The New York Herald Newspaper, October 11, 1874, Page 6

—_— _-——_.. SHAKESPEARE OR BACON ? The War for the Honor of the Plays. {PROFSSSOR HART'S VIEWS. {Progressive Development Shown ; in the Dramas. ANOTHER BACONIAN SPEAKS. Opinion of Professor John S. Hart. PRINCETON, Oct. 3, 1874. I bave recently had an interesting interview upon the Shakespearian discussion with Professor Jonn 8, Hart, Professor of English Literature in Princeton College. There are but few, perhaps, ‘who have given the subject greater attention, who are better prepared to speak concerning It, or whose opinions are entitled to greater considera- tion, Knowing that the relation which he bore to the College was such as to confine his strict atten- tion to this particular subject year after year, and that the fulfilment of nis obligations was perfectly consistent with his greatest pleasure, I felt sure that, by coming here, I could secure something that ali persons of literary culture or taste, whether Shakespearian students or not, would be delighted to read. ‘To the literary world the Pro- Yossor is weli known; better, perbaps, for his nu- merous works upon English language and litera- ture than for the remarkable and highly interest- ing article recently pubiished in Scribner's Month- wy, under ihe wtleof “Tue Shakespearian Death Mask.” “What do you consider the most powerful argu- Ment in favor of the authenticity of Shakespeare’ a plays?” | asked. “The fact that Shakespeare was recognized as ‘their author by ali bis contemporaries,” was the prompt response, “But, Professor Hart,” Icontinued, “‘almostevery, One that I have ever approached has given me an answer similar to yours, Therefore presaming that 2am an ignoramus; vnat I do not know anything ; that I have not the faintest idea concerning either Shakespeare himself or any of the writers that Mourished about his time—presuming me to be a party whom you were exceedingly anxious to con- vince, from what man that lived in Shakespeare's time would you quote?” “Well,” said the Professor, somewhat amused at my earnestness, “I would quote from Francis Meres, He was the author of a work on gen- eral literature called ‘Paliadis Tamias; or its’ Treasury,’ in which he makes mention of Shakespeare in a way whicu sets eternally at Test the question whetuer he was or was not tue @uthor o! his plays and whetuer he was or was Rot recognized as such by his contemporaries. Enumerating the great tragic poets who baa ourished in Greece and Rome, Meres says we nave in English (following the reguiar curono- logical order) Marlowe, Peele, Watson, SHAKESPEARE, Drayton, Chapman, Decker, Ben Jonson. Again, in like manner, concerning writers o/ comedy, he mentions Lilly, Greene, | SHAKESPEARE, | Reywood, &c. Again, quoting the writers who had excelled in lyric poetry, he mentions Spen- | 4er, Daniel Drayton, } SHAKESPEARE, | do. Still agaio, referring to the exegi monumen- | tum of Horace, he says:—‘We have in English Jike enduring monuments in the works of sidney, Daniel Drayton aad SHAKESPEARE." | Some of his particular expressions are remark- able: ‘As the soul of Euphorbus was thought to live in Pythagoras, so ihe sweet, witty soul of Ovid lives iu meiliferous, honey-tougued Snake- speare’—wituess bis “Venus and Adonis,” his “Lucrece,” bis sugar’d sonnets among his private friends. As Epicus Stolo said:—‘fhe Muses ‘would speak in Plautus’ tongue if they would speak tin,” so I say the Muses would speak with Shbakespeare’s fine-filed phrases wu they ‘would speak English. As Piautus and Seneca are accounted the best for comedy and tragedy among the Latins, so Shakespeare among the Englisu 1s the most excelient in both Kinds ior the stage. For comedy witness bis ‘‘Gentiemen of Verona,” his “Errors,” his “Love’s Lavor’s Lost Labor Won,” his “Midsumigr Night’s Dream’? end his “Merchant of Ven “ for tragedy, hts “Richard LL,” “Richard Ill.’ “Henry JV.,” “King John,” “Titus Audronicus’ “Romeo and Juitet.”"? “Here, then,” continued Professor Hart, “in 1598 we have Shakespeare publicly quoted im a text book as among the great Euglish authors whose works alone are a@ monument «ere perenne.” His name is piaced conspicuousiy in four suc- ceasive lists of writers Who bave distinguisned themselves severally in comic, tragic, lyric and elegiac poetry. Again we have quoted by name his ‘Venus and Adonis,’ ‘Lucrece,’ and his sonnets, | and no less than tweive of nis great dramas, the whole accompanied with the significant judgment | of the critic, aller naming ai! the great lig..ts of English literature down tw that day, except Onau- cer, [Even up to the date of Addison, Chaucer and other early Bnglish poets were but littie kaown— ED.| that the sweet soul of Ovid seemed to live in mellifuvus and honey-topgued Shakespeare, and that if the Muses shouid ever aeign to speak English they would speak with Shakespeare’s fine-flied purases. Yo say, alter this, that Shakespeare was not recognizea in his own day is as absurd as it would be to say the same of Speuser, Sidney, Raleigh and Ben Jonson. What aumirer of the great dramatist could now speak of him in higher terms of praise Shan did this Francis Meres in 1598? Ben Jouson himself (who was as competent to speak of shake- Speare as would be Longteilow to speak of Tenny- gon; even more competent, jor Jonsoa and Shake- apeare were intimately acquainted, wroye for the @ame stage, lived in the same city, dined at the game tavern, where they nad those famous wit combats)—I say Jonson himself, in the lines pre- fixed to the Orst folio, speaks of Shakespeare in terms not only of the greatest affection, but of the most exaited culogy, speaks not ‘only of his unparalleled ag and extols lim as surpassing not only Chaucer, Spenser, Marlowe and all other English wriiers, but even the ancienta, whom Ben greatly wor- soIpped, VizZ., Aristophanes, Terence and Plautus, and many others.” “Has any writer that you can recall—contem- poraneous writer | mean—ever thrown out a not as to how Shakespeare came into possession or the | remarkable encyCciopediac kuowiedge uispiayed iu hus works ?’’ | aske “1 would answer the question by saying that to bis contemporaries the genius of Shakespeare was 8 much the subject of admiration and wouder as itis tous. We know little of Shakespeare's life, but the little we know of it makes us to under- Stand the fact that during his jiietime he was re- | garded asa man of genius. This iact comes to us With so muck corroborative proet from contem- poraneous writers that we cannot contradict It, and when we admit this fact we of course admit everything else. If he were a genias we cannot at this day decide upon what that genius was or was not capable of accom lishing. I couid in no vetter way, perhaps, answer your question voncernin, Shakespeare than by repeating to you what Taine has spoken of Chaucer :—‘Unaucer is like a Jeweller,’ says Taine, ‘like a jeweller with lis hands ull; pearls and glass beads, sparkling diamonds and common agates, biack jet and ruby roses, ali that history and imagination bad veen abie to gather and fashion during hundreds of years, all that roiied hia way, dashed together by the stream of centuries A great jumble of human memory he holds in his hands, arranges it, composes therefrom a long, ans ornament, with twenty pendants, a thousand facets, wilich, by ite splendors, varie- ties, contrasts, may attract and savisty the eye of the most greedy for amusement and novelty.’ Taine,” continued the Professor, ‘in the same essay remarks that the genius of Chaucer of its Simple self enabled bim to Know and depict a whole worid, aa it Was witn the genius of Suake- Speare, 80 that before we can account for the eneyclopediac knowiedge (as you cail it) tuat the dramatist displays, we must first account for the existence Of his genius, which is impossible, ior jus in ite nature Can no more be analyzed than it can be circumscribed in its works, A hint, @ stray word—nay, the most indirect allasion, which, to ail who heard it, conveyed ple | of import, to a man 0/ Shakespeare's genius woul n'a new world of thought, imagination and poetry, through which bis consummate art en- ‘abled him to wander and select treasure after treasure and dress them up in form se lovely and ancommon that they are still the glory and miracies of our literature. Shakespeare has out- lived all his contemporaries, and he will ve still the same man through centuries to come, He ts jways novel; in bis plays are many innovations im the stage precedents and customs of his day, and in this once more we see the genius of tne for, as the great Frenchman remarks, ‘when te infused great ideas some wil, ‘with bis craving to express it, invent new forms of art and now groups of figures.’ Shakespeare has done this, and jor his work I believe that pos- terity, ul Smitn, or Holmes, or Delta Bacon, wi The Progressive Development of Shake- apeare’s Education in His Plays. Yo ras Evrson op THs HaraLp:— In a former communication I presented the Argument, in proof of Shakespeare's author- Guin of the works attributed by & fa ¥ his “Love's | ius, but of his consummate art, | naffected Ui give him praise, gratitude and giory.” | NEW YORK HERALD, SUNDAY, OCTOBER i, 1874.-QUINTUPLE SHB&E&T. spectanie minority to Bacon, ‘that the plays | themselves indicared @ progressive acquire- | ment in knowledge, and that the produc- tion of so many excellent literary offsprings was iD no wise tucompatible with a limited university | education, Inow wish to extend the argument | by @ general and particular review of Shake- | speare’s works tn their chronological order, a8 | near as it can be arrived at by the knowledge and | Opinions of early commentators. This review will | also partly explain the reason for the composite character of his works. “PERICLES” ts one of the disputea plays, The firgt known quarto edition was published in 1609, Under the title, | “The late and much admired play called | ‘Pericles,’ and bore Wiliam Shakespeare’s name | as author. It had been registered the previous | year. A prose tract, founded upon this | | drama, was published by George Wilkins | | in 1608, The incidents are found in the ancient romance of “King Apollonius, of | | Tyre,” and also im @ prose transiation | from the “Gesta Kumanorum.” This drama has | been thought to be Shakespeare’s first production, alterward retouched and revised by nim. Dry- den, in a certain prologue written in 1075, says:— | Shakespeare’s own muse his Pericles first bore. That it was mainly if not entirely Shakespeare's composition ig internally proved: HENRY VI, 197, 2D AND 3D PARTS. | In Henslowe’s Diary there is record that “Henry vj.” was first acted March 3, 1591-2, This referred to the play now styied the First part, of which there is no copy earlier than that of the folio of | 1623, though the two succeeding parts are extant | in two editions in quarto. Taat the Second and Third parts were published without the First 1s | strong evidence that they were surrepttiously obtained, Mr, Malone bases as his argument a | dissimilarity of style and diction to prove that the I | ! | | | | | First part of Henry Vl. was not composed by | Shakespeare, and that the Second and Third | | parts were but altered by him from the old play | | entitled “The Contention of the Two famous Houses of Yorke and Lancaster,” printed in two parts in 1504-5. The authorship of this last named work 18 unknown, and it is not improbable that it was a juvenile production of Shakespeare. The | historical transactions of the First part take in thirty years; the Second part ten years; the Third | sixteen years. In the three parts there is no pre- | | cise attention to dates, and events are shuMed backward and forward against the order of | occurrence. | | “TWO GENTLEMEN OP VERONA.’ This play bears on its face the stamp of youth, | Malone supposes it was written about 1591. It was fixst printed in the 1623 folio, It is presumed to be wholly Shakspeare’s. | “THE COMEDY OF ERRORS.’ was first printed in the 1623 folio, Meres alludes | to it as early as 1598, showing that it was written | | | | | prior to that year, The plot was taken from Plautus’ “Mencechmi,” or perhaps from an English | translation thereol, Chalmers places the composi- tion In 1691, “LOVE'S LABOR’S Lost”? was published in quarto in 1598, with the follow: ing title:—‘A pleasant comedie called Love’s Labor's Lost, Newly corrected and augmented. By W. Shakespeare.” It stands seventh tn the Jotio of 1623. If tounded on any novel, commen- | tators have not been able to discover the Jact. Malone placed the composition of the comedy in 1691, afterwards im 1594 Dr. Drake thought it might be safely assigned to the earlier period. “RICHARD IL.” This play was first entered on the stationers’ books in 1597. There were four quarto editions published during the life of Shaxespeare—viz., 1597, 1598, 1608 and 1615, There was an old play on the subject of Richard IL; but Shakespeare founded his drama chiefly upon Hollinshed’s “Chronicles,” trom which he adopted several pas- Sages with notable closeness. The date of tne com position is placed py Malone in 1593; Chalmers in 1596. | | | | “RICHARD III.’” | Five quarto copies were published previous to the one in the first folio, It was first entered at Stationers’ Hall in 1597, with the following title, “The Tragedy oi King Richard the Third; contain- ing his treacherous Piots against his Brother | Clarence; the pitiful Murther of his innocent | Nephewes; his tyrannical Usurpation; with the whole course of his detested Lise and most de- served Deatn.” Between the quarto copies and the 1623 folio there are many variations o1 text. Commentators variously place the dace of com- | position at 1593 to 1698. The action of the piay comprises fourteen years, : “TITUS ANDRONICUS.”” Johnson raises a doubt about the authorsntp of | this play, asserting that it had been exhibited twenty-five or thirty years before 1614, It might | have been 0, and yet be reconstructed by Shakespeare. Its scenes of baroarity are cer- tainly nO credit to any author of taste. A few commentators have discovered @ similarity in style, but [incline to think it the style of a new beginner aod very like Shakespeare’s. Anony- | mous copies were published in 1600 and 1611. The piece was only publishea with Shakespeare's name alter his death. In 1598 Meres enumerates this among five, other tragedies as proof of | Shakespeare's dramatic power. “MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DBEAM.’? The plot of tnis play seems to have neen Shakespeare’s own. Those who speak of the in- congruity of Greck characters being mixed up | with English actors should remember that this 18 | a “dream,” and no dream was ever yet consistent | initself. Malone places the date of the composi- | tion in 1594. in 1600 there were two quarto edi- | tions, | “THE TAMING OF THR SHREW? | Stands eleventh in the 1623 folto, An anonymous | | play, was printed in 1594 (by Pope ascribed to | Shakespeare and by Malone to George Peele or Robert Greene) with the same titie. This Shake- | Speare rewrote, adopting the order of the scenes, but retaining only a few lines which he thought worth preserving. The composition seems to be | of an early date, and Malone piaces it in tne year | the anonymous copy was printed. “ROMEO AND JULIBT.? From a line in act L, scene 1, spoken by the Nuise—‘’Tis since the earthquake now eleven | years”—the date of this play has been traced to | 1591, In 1697 @ quarto copy was published, and | again in 1599, vhe latter publication being “newly | corrected, augmented aad amended.” The story | of the play had long been extant. | “THE MERCHANT OF VENICE.” The earliest Known pubiication is that of two quarto editions in 1 and it appears as ninth | play in the 1623 folio, Chalmers places the date of | the composition in 1597, Malone in 1598 It has also been ascribed to an earlier period, and was velieved to have been acted by the company of | actors of whom Shakespeare was one, in 1504. The | Tatn incidents in the plot are traditionary. From @ passage in Stephen Gosson’s “School of Abuse” (1579) Mt appears that a play comprehending ita distinct. features had been exhibited, under the title of “The Jew,’’ iong before Shakespeare com- | menced writing. Its plot, like Shakespeare’s, was | combination from the “Pecorne” and the “Gesta | Romanorum.”’ “HENRY IV., FIRST PART.’ Malone places the date of this composition in 1597 (the r of its entry), Dr. Drake a year sooner. ve quarto editions were published | during the author’s life. The first quarto bore the | title—'The History of Henrie the Povrth, with the Battell at Shrewsburie betweene the King and | Lord Henry Percy, surnamed Henrie Hotspar of the North. With the Humorous Conceits of Sir John Falstaffe.” The action of the play embraces | d | about ten months. “HENRY IV., SECOND PART,” Entered at Stationers’ Hall in 1600; two copies in quarto printed that year. Malone places the | date of composition in 15938. ‘ne second 1600 uarto bears this sitle:—“The Second Part of lenrie the Fourth, continuing to his death and coronation of Henrte the Fit. With the humours | of Str John Falstaffe and swaggering Pistol. Writ- | ten by William Shakespeare.’ The action of the play takes in about nine years, “KING JOHN” stands fifteenth in the 1623 folio, and the date of | composition is placed by Malone in 1596. it was founded on @ gay, entitied “The Troublesome Raigne of John, King of Engiand, &c.,” 1691, which was republished in 1611 with the name of William Shakespeare on the title page. Dr. Farmer thinks there is no douot that Rowley wrote the o'd play, which Shakespeare har followed only in the con- duct of the plot. The spurious pnbiication 1oisted on the public as Shakespeare’s was what we de- | nominate nowadays as a ‘Yankee trick.” | “ALLS WELL THAT ENDS WELL” fn 1606, The fable is found in iletta of Narbonne,” and was trans- ‘Palace of Pleasure,” 1666, In has simply made use of the of the story, and has intro- duced characters of his own. “HENRY V.! ‘This play, according to Malone, appears to have | | been written in the middle of the year 1599. There Were three quarto editions in the poet’s liletime— | 16.0, 1602, 1608—but they are so Imperfect as to in- | duce the belief that they were printed from mere | Oral transcript taken during performance. Not | One ol these copies bears the author’s name, The | Malone places 1t follows the ‘second Part of Henry [V,’" “aS YOU LIKE IT." The first known copy is that of the follo of 1623. An entry in the “Stationers’ Rey ir,” belteved vo be for 1600, ts thas given :—‘4 Auguste, As you like vt, @bOOK.” Malone dates sue composition of | leeve they tooke him to | Cresseia,”” | ever a paucity of evidence might seem to raise a | | No supposititions experience as an attorney's the drama in 1599. The is supposed to be Rosalyn plot i ‘aken trom the romance of ‘* ‘Thomas Lodge, from whioh the principal charac- | ters are sketched; but Jaques, Touchstone and Audrey are of Shakespeare's Own creation, There 1s a tradition that Shakespeare played the charac- | ter Adam, “MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING,’ ‘This play, according to Vertue’s MSS., formerly pessee under cue title of *Benedick aad Beatrix,” tis supposed to bave been written in 1600, in which year it was frst? printed. Of the serious Part of the plot there are traces to be found in | Ariosto’s “Urlando Furioso,” and Spenser's “Faery Queen,” also in an Italian novel by Baudeilo, *HAMLET,?? It is said that a play called “Hamlet” was known and acted in London as early ag 1598, The next reference to the play 1s anentry in the Stationers’ | Department at Washington, but well known to | Registry on July 26, 1602, a8 lollows:—A booke, ‘Tne Revenge of Hamlett, prince of Denmarke,’ yt was latelie acted by the Lord Chamberlayne his bervantes.” An edition was published in 1603 irom @ surrepulious vopy, which differed widely Irom that pubiished in 1604—containing scarcely two-thirds as many lines, and its inferiority waa | Delia Bacon to the present time, and has carefully | still more marked, Tbree other additions were published, in 1605, 1611 and an undated one entered at Stationers’ tall on November 19, 1607. The main story 18 to be found in the “Quronicl of Saxo Drammaticus,” the Danish histori from thence repeated in &@ novel by Belletorest, an from bim translated into English as “The Hystorie of Hambiet.’’ Of this latter Work no earlier edition | than 1608 is known, “MERRY WIVES OF ‘od was probably written in 1601, ‘Tne first edition was printed in quarto in 1602, bat probably from stage recitations, 1t being @ very inferior version. Another quarto, printed i 1619, lacked the com- pleteness of the folio of 1623, Dennis, in his dedica- tion to his alteration of this play under the titie of “The Comical Gallant,’ says nat Shakespeare wrote this comedy at the instance of Queen Eliza- | beth, who, tn ner eagerness to see Falstal’ im the character of a lover, limited the production of the | composition to two Weeks, in which time it was | finished, “TWELFTH NIGHT. ”? This comedy forms the thirteenth play inthe | folio of 1623, the earliest known date of its publica- tion, The composition of the play is piaced in 1600, based on an entry in a memorandum book of John Manningham, apparently a Temple student, wader date of February 2, 1601-2, wherein he Says:—“At our feast we had a play called ‘Twelve: Night; or, What fou Will,’ * * * most like and neere to that in Italian called ‘Inganni.’ A good pracuse in it to make the steward belleve his lady widdowe was in love with him, by counterfayting @ letter, as irom his lady, in generall terms telling him what shee liked best in him, and _prescrivin, his gestures, inscribing bis apparaile, &, an then when he came to pactise,, making him be- e mad, *PROLLUS AND CRESSIDA,!? The date of composition is placed by Malone at 1602; Dr. Drake, 1601; Mr. Chalmers. 1600, In 1609 | there were two quartos printed. The first bore the titie, “Tne Famous Historie of ‘froyius and and a long sub-title, and the | second the name of the play with correct spelling of the name of “Cressida;’’ both editions under Shakespeare’s name, The sources | obtained jor the material were evidently Chaucer's | poem of the same title, Chapman’s translation of Homer, Lydgate’s ‘Iroy Book” and Caxton’s “History of the Destruction of Troy.” HENRY VIII. This play, it is conjectured, was written about 1600, Or perhaps two or three years iater. Alter having lain by some years unacted it was revived in 1613 at the Globe Theatre under the title “All Is Troe.” During its recitai the theatre caught fire aud burned down, the cause of the fire being the | careless use of some small ordnance in one of the scenes, Doubtless the manuscript copies of man of Siakespeare’s piays were consumed, flenry Vill, Was first published in 1623. Its action coinprises @ period of twelve years, ‘There is a deviation irom nistory in placing the death of Queen Catherine beiore the birth of Elizabeth, when she did not die till turee years thereatter. MEASURE FOR MRASURE was written, Malone supposes, about the close of 1603, The story was taken irom Whetstone’s “Pro- mos and Cassandra,” a narrative so imperfect in analysis and so insipid in style that it was but an embryo which Shakespeare’s culture grew to @ beauteous development, fertile in entertainment. OTHELLO. The first printed copy is one 1m quarto in 1622, credited to Shakespeare and republished the fol- lowing year. In 1630 andtner quarto edition ay beared, with some textual variations, There record that @ play by “Shaxberd” (one of the Many forms in which Shakespeare was then written), entitied “The Moor of Venice,” was per- formed at Whitehall on November 1, 1604 There- fore, the period of its composition was before that date. The plot is found in Cintbio’s Hecatom- mithi,’’ of which Shakespeare must have seen an English trausiation, althougu we have no knowl- edge tuat there was such. KING LEAR. Three quarto editions were published in 1608, Varying in many respects trom tue folio of 1623, the differences consisting in curtailments in the early copies, made for stage 1epresentation. The pertod of its composition was probably subsequent to 1603, and it is known to have been acted at court in December, 1606, Hints ior the plot are presumed to have been taken from a vartety of sources at command. There was an anonymous play,extant, entitled «The True Chronicle History o1 King Leir and his Three Daughters, Gonorti, Ragan and Cordelia,” and also an old ballad on the subject. MACBETH, The composition of this tragedy can only be | laced between 1603 and 1610, Malone’s conjecture | eing 1606, Itis known to have been acted in | 1610, ee historical incidents are according to 1 Holins: JULIUS CAESAR, No earlier copy than the lollo of 1623, Coulier endeavors to prove it was written before 1603, | some years earlier than the date Malone assigned | it, The main materials of the drama appear to be derived irom North’s “Plutarch.” embraces about three years, ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. First printed in the folio of 1623, . It is believed the play Was written in 1607 or 1608. The histori- cal incidents are drawn from the same source as “Julius Cwsar.’? The action | CYMBELIN®. Like the several last preceding plays no early copies are known. Chalmers places the date of | composition in 1605, Malone in 1609. The piot is of Italian origin, asresemblance being traced to Bo- caccio’s “Bernabo da Genova,” CORIOLANUS, Entered and first printed in 1623. Malone con- Jectures it was composed in 1610. The historical material is derived from North’s “Piutarch,” and Some speeches differ only in the versification. TIMON OF ATHENS. There was no other copy but that of 1623, Ma- lone dates tue period of composition at 1609, It Would seem to me, from its crudeness and want of Polish, to have been @ youthful production of Shakespeare and much neglected. TEMPEST. The folio of 1623 contained the eartiest printed copy. lt Was probably written about ill and known to have been acted early in 1613, The plot is derived (rom no specific source, WINTER'S TALK. This play was first licensea in 1611 and probably then just written. The story is taken irom ‘Ine Pleasaot History of Dorastus and Fawnia,” 1583, by Robert Greene. Mauy of the circumsiances of jen! NS Me peer are the names adopted, an je characters of Antigonus, Paulina and Autolycus were newly introduced. DEDUCTIONS. From the foregoing it will pe seen that where- doubt as to the authorship oi any o! these piays there 1s No indication of the slightest pretenuon le,” 1590, by | | what Mmadequate and wholly dull book of Judge | Holmes 1s on indication of this, Two Judges of Miller, 1 believe—are understood to buve been converted by Judge Holmes’ book, Even hard- headed old Lord Palmerston, an Englishman of | Englishmen, bad to yield to the force of the argu- | ment in favor of Bacon. But I pause at the threshbold of this discussiop, 60 rich in suggestiveness, and forbear to treat, even in tins cursory Way, other points, more conciusive, perhaps, Which might be urged, feeling Iny total iuadeqnacy for the task. ‘There is, prob- | ably, but one man in America fully competent to treat tis subject in all its fulness and richness as | adefender of vhe Baconian or anti-Shakespeare | theory—I refer to Mr, Willlam D, O’Connor, now | occupying a subordinate position in the Treasury | literary men a8 one of the most eloquent and effective of living writers. He 1s steeped to the very lips im the Elizabethan literature, having been a close student of It {rom bis boyhood, and he has watched witn the iptensest interest the whole question, from its development in the work of investigated every phase of the subject, He 1s the one to whom Hawthorne relers in “Our Old Home” as the “young man of genius and enthu- siasm,” who was the only person he had ever met | who had read Miss Bacon’s book entirely through, and whom he (Hawthorne) called upon to vindt- cate the great dead scholar im her grave. Mr. O'Connor bas long contemplated an exhaustive work on this subject, and when his poweriul and vivid pen snail bave tuily treated it 1 beileve that it will be settled in the minds of all candid men forever. INDEX, * A Good Chance for the Dramatic Fand. To THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD:— Will you not arrange with some publisher to give us a pamphlet containing all the learned dis- courses on the authenticity of the great dramas, known under the name of “Shakespeare’s Works,” as they appeared in the HERALD, with, of course, your own powerful edituriais on the subject? You have waked up a new interest in the Bard of Avon which has never been equailed in journal contro- versy here or in the Old World, The men who have written are our best intellects; and what they have said, for and against, 1g argued in plain lan- guage, and, for the most part, logically sustained, ‘The Shakespeare students have read every line with intense delight, and so ttave ali educated men throughout the country; but tue papers are now scattered, and those who will wish to read those mstructive documents again will find it difficult to collect them, Gan you not, or rather, will you not, ce us the whole in @ neat volume, with a portrait of the great William and another of Bacon, if itis worth while? This, of course, when the controversy is conciaded, all the learned men having given the public their opinions fully and exhausted the subject. bed No doubt the book would sell well among all Classes, and especialy the admirers of the drama, and they are legion, And here iet me suggest a | that the proceeds be given to the ‘Dramatic | Fund,” which needs constantly @ helping hand, because the calls on it are irequent; and the good work it docs needs no comment irom NEWARK. What the Old Actors Thought. Hau Brigg, N. ¥., Sept. 28, 1874, To THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD:— The controversy in your paper in relation to the 60 much discussion among playwrights, professors, actors and others leads me, as an old New Yorker and an intimate friend of the late tragedian, Thomas S. Hamblin, to say to your readers that I was present, over twenty-six years, ago, in Win- dust’s house, in Park row, in company with Ham- bin, Jonn R, Scott, Manager Mitchell, of the old Olympic; Tom Flynu, W. R. Blake, William E. Bur- ton and other well known actors of that day, when the subject matter of the present controversy was discussed, and the opinion of all was at that time that Shakespeare wrote the plays which bear his name, DAVID POLLOCK, THE LOUISIANA DIFFICULTY. Similarity Between the San Francisco Vigilance Committee Insurrection and the New Orleans Coup d’Etat—The Application of the Governor of Cali- fornia for Federal Aid Refused— General Sherman’s Course During the Pacific Dificulty—Policy of Pierce and Grant Contrasted. During the Vigilance Committee outbreak in San Francisco in 1856 Governor Johnson, of California, applied to President Pierce for aid to suppress the insurrection. He represented that the legal au- thorities of the State were defied in more lachry- mose terms than Kellogg; that an armed force of about six theusand men bad taken possession of the city; that they had shot and: hung, contrary to law, several men charged with crime, and had forcibly deported many others to foreign countries; that they had attacked the armories occupied by the militia, who were compelled to surrender with arms to overwhelming numbers, and had also attacked a vessel conveying arms from the United States ordnance stores at Benicia; seized their cargoes and made prisoners of the men in charge. The Governor further represented that | he had issued a proclamation declaring that an insurrection existed in San Franvisco and called Upon the militia to assemble and place themselves under orders of GENNERAL WILLIAM T, SHERMAN, then commander of the First Divtsion of California Militia and now General of the United States army. At the time in question tne quota of arms to which California was entitled from the War Department had not been, it was understood, delivered, and Governor Johnson asked the President that direc- tions might be given for their issuance. General Wool, who commanded the Pacific division, had promised, he (the Governor) stated, at first to fur nish the weapons to General Sherman, but after- ward deciined: to do so. Affairs were in a critical condition, and there were good reasons for believing that the insurrection would spread to other parts of the State; and there were, also, fears entertained that a scheme was on foot to push matters to a far greater extent by making an effort to ESTABLISH A PACIFIC REPUBLIC, Two special commissioners were sent to Washing- ton to present this fetter. Communication be- tween California and the Eastern States was not frequent or rapid in 1856. Steamers left only every fortnight, and it took fully two months to send a letter to Washington and receive areply. In the meantime General Wool declined to render assist- ance to the local authorities in any way, and de- nied that he had promised to supply General Sher- man with arms, though the latter averred that irom any quarter that Bacon had anything to do with them. By tous engrossing the chronology we can more @asily draw conclusions, We tind that | the plota were rarely wholly Shakespeare's inven- | tions. A collection of Italian and Englisn tales, | some books on Englisus, Greek and Roman history, | served as foundation, and the fecundity of shake- | speare’s mind supplied the rest, fo this aca a | jew plays of feevie authors rewritien by Shake- speare, and we have a process of drama-making | which W488 as easy to Shakespeare as roliiug of a log. We Can thus see that inuch of his special kuowiledge was derived from many sources, He was not onlya writer but a preparer of manuscripts for the stage, and doubtless sume came Inio his nands which he chabged go as not to leave anything | traceable of the original but the style of composi- | uon, Stili l cannot belleve that there were mavy Of these rewritten plays. I have been only solicit Ous to show that his first plays were bis most in- ferior, until custom and a faciiity in thinking gave | Dim exactness of expression. FRANKLIN, | One More Baconian Heard From. | WASHINGTON, D. C., Oct. 6, 1574, || To THe EDITOR OF THE HERALD:— | I have watched with interest the discussion inaugurated in your cosmopolitan columns rela- | tive to the authorship of Shakespeare. There | must be some correspondence between a man's life and bis works. All history and all science | Drociaim it. Yet in Shakespeare's case there is none, and this is the Gibraltar against which the | defenders of the “divine William” beat their | heads in vain, The Baconian theory bas been rather feewly defended in your columns, put I | have reason to believe that it 18 much stronger | | among the people than is there indicated. It comes | home with peculiar iorce to the legal pro.ession, | who realize, probably more than others, not only ; the learned and accurate use of legal terms in the plays, but the strong legal bias shown every. | where, especially in the historical ones, which | Jeada the author to seek legal metaphors con. | stantly a6 a favorite form of illustration. No tyro | uses these edged toois with impunity. The best } modern writers have biuwderea sadly in their attempts to mtroduce legal phraseology and cases | into their works. But Shakespeare, as Lord Chief Justice Campbell bas Clavoravely shown, never | makes a mistake, He knew law not only but as a jurist, a8 @ profound jawyer, clerk will expiain this phenomenon. Coke contemptuously said that Lord Bacon wrote phi- losopby lke a Lord Chaaeelior, It will hereaiter appear that he also wrote plays like a Lord Chan- celtor, The erful character of this internal Do} evidence in favor of Bacon few legal minds can } Pent, and the adherents of law and order began | \t such & promise had been made. Vigilance Commitvee grew bolder, They defled the courts and refused to obey their mandates. They | continued to make arrests and fortified themselves im the heart of the city. Cannon were placed | at the street corners and squads of armed men were continually passing from one point to another, There could be no doubt as to a serious revolt being in existence, and that the Executive power was not only disregarded but reviled and threatened. General Sherman could do nothing, for all the State arms had been carried off by the committee, and General Wool would not raise a hand. He refused the application of the United States Marsbai and the Judges of the United States Circuit and District Courts protection in the discharge of their duties, they having stated, on what they had reason to believe good grounds, that the committee nad tureatened to rescue and revent the trial oi men charged with piracy. The igilance Committee had everything their own way, With one very important drawback. The Navy Department had ordered a man-o+war to be kept in the harbor and to watch the action of the insurgents, ‘The vessel se- Jected for this purpese was the corvette Jobn Adams, Commander Boutwell. As matters proceeded this officer brought his ship to the | foot of the street on which the committee had ea- tablished their neadquarters, He ancuored within | haifa mile of the position, and announced that if any turtuer executions were attempted he would OPEN FIRE ON THE RESEL FORTRESS, A hot-beaded section of the committee proposed capturing the John Adams by boarding, but the leaders were not prepared for this extreme course. However, no more men were hung, and several other armed vessels having put in an ap- arance, there Was a calming down of excite- 0 recover courage. The answer to the Governor's request for arms at length arrived. Secretary Marcy, speaking for the President, declined to rant it. The subject hud received careiul consid- eration and had been relerred to Attorney General Cushing. That officer, in bis opinion, re erred to the views of Omef Justice Taney in ‘ve Rnode Island rebellion case; and as the Cu ila Out. break had many features in common wiih the re cent revolt in Loutsiana, some of Mr. Cushing's views are here given :—4t was not alleged, -he sald in Governor Jonnson’s letter, that the Legislature could not be convened, and so tar the matter failed to come within the constitutional provision, The Governor only applied for arms and not ior the aid of the militia, There was an obstruction of the laws, but no shock of arms between the in- gurgenis and the State, and the exercise of the President's unquestioned power in doutful cases ought to be reserved except in the most exigent emergency. A month, he bad passed witnout Teaist when once oresented to them. The some- a steps being taken to call the Legislature to- gether, hich should be viewed aa evidence that the United States Supreme Court—Swayne and | authorship of Shakespeare’s plays having created | their | Meanwhile the | the State authorities had not fulfiited what the Jaw required, Had that been done, and a demand that body for succor to suppress insurrection, the whole constitational P the President then be properly brought into operation if the State torces proved unable to cope with-the insurgents. ORDER WAS SOON AFTER RESTORED. | But 1s is only correct to remember tuat it was | more through the decided course of Commander Boutwell (who acted according to his own nowons | of the situation) than any other that this result Was attained, Admirai Farragut was in command at Mare Island Navy Yard, bat ne took very little part in the proceedings. A comparison, however, with the Louisiana difficulty will not ‘be out of place, There was fear of the secession of Calllor- Dla and the estdbiishment of @ Pacific Republic in 1856. None are 80 wild as to dream of secession | in Louisiana to-day, It would have been idle to attempt to convene the Legislature in the former State, for the Vigilance Committee had ample re- | sources to send wen to Sacramento ana disperse | 1t—a course they would not have hesitated to take. Kellogg .could have far more easily brought his Legislature together than Johusgon could nave dove, The State authority was as completely | overthrown by iorce in San Francisco as it was | in New Orleans; and, Mr. Cushing to the con- trary, there were Coilisions between the {nsur- geuts in California and the law and order troops, ‘The federal courts and officers were threatened With suppression and arrest if they proceeded in | certain cases contrary to the Wishes Of the com- mittee. The Chief Justice of the highest tribunal in Caliiornia and the United States Navy Agent were prisoners, The State armories were at- tacked and their lawful defenders made captives in San Francisco 1n the same manner as the police stations were in New Orleans, and measures were openly discussed to board and carry the sloop-of- war John Adams, Johnson only asked for the arms to which the milttia were entitled by law, and he was told he could not get thom In ail this there ts to be seen that sooner than interfere in the domestic difficulties of A SOVEREIGN STATE, President Pierce’s Cabinet were willing to incur & very serious risk. Caleb Cushing weighed well Chief Justice Taney’s decision in the Dorr case, but he was averse to furnish either men or arms im @ controversy which he considered (it turned out correctly) would soon come to an end, Attor- ney General Williams, on the other hand, came hastily to @ different conclusion in the Louisiana business, No one disputed the legiti- | Macy of Governor Johnson's authority, and was overthrown even more sud- denly than Kellogg’ Kellogg was certain to have at least the moral support of the United States forces, aud communication ts instantane- ous with New Orleans. General Wool, acting upon his own responsibility, arrayed himself pomarels against Johnson, and two months would necessa- Tuy elapse before instructions could come from Washington. The L Heabears complained | of by a ortion o1 the pecy le of San Francisco in 1856 were ut the merest trifles in comparison with the {raud, corruptions and illegality'ol the present govern- | | ment of the entire State of Louisiana; and the in- surgents of San Francisco were to blame almost solely themselves for the wrongs that existed. They had the remedy in their own hands. But they were so completely taken up in the. pursuit Ol wealth thet they neglected every political duty, | including that of going to the polls to youe when | elections took place, Consequently many unscru- pulous men were chosen to office. To crown ail, the democratic party, a8 @ party, took from the very beginning the strongest ground against the Vigilauce Committee. The sympathies oi Pierce’s | administration must have gone with its supporters, but notwithstanding the persistent appeals for federal interierence it was not coneeded. | General Sherman, who was very anxious to sup- press the lawless acts of the organization, related hat General Woo! clearly promised arms. The reply of the latterjwas :—‘‘No one but the President of the United States can issue arms toa State in case of insurrection. But here in California we are so far away irom the President that a general of division might assume the responsibility in cer- tain cases, and this might be one.’ With ali the circumstances as stated before him Mr. Cushing sald he was reluctant to go beyond the actual case in undertaking to pronounce an opinion on law applicable to the gravest and the most critical | of all emergencies possible to occur in the rela- tions between the United States and the respect. ive States of the Union, He remarked:—‘I am not wiiling to say that circumstances may not arise in which tue President might fur- nish arms without farnishing men at the = same time, under the authority of the act of 1307 and on the principle that as the whole is incioded ‘in its parts so | the iurnishing of arms alone may be compre- hended in the power to employ all the land and naval lorces of the United States.” This power, Mr. Cashing held, should be reserved ior cases in which all the constitutional powers of the State had been exerted in vain wo prevent or SUPPRESS DOMESTIO WAR. Governor Kellogg Certainly used no efforts to assemble bis Legislature in New Orleans or at any point in Louisiana, though General Grant in uis Proclamation asserts that 1¢ could not be con- Vered. ‘his document appeared almost on the very day the coup détat was effected, There isa lesson to be studied in the course of Pierce and Grant under circumstances in poo a 8 closely corresponding with each other. eo Vigilance Committee was anti-democratic, The great ma | jority of its leaders and members were tor Fre- | Mont as against Buchanan for the Presi- | dency; yet Mr. Pierce and Caleb Cusnin; earnest democrats, sensitive as to federal interference in State matters, let the insurgents maintain their sway undisturbed, though they were not free irom suspicion of contemplating the setting up of an independent Republic. General | Grant and Mr. Williams ey, rushed to uphoid the disgracelul régime under Kellogg. his recital | of lacts imay serve to give the eminent jurists, | Messrs. O’Conor and Johnson, matter for consider- ; ation. Toe opimon of Caleb Cushing, when con- gulted by President Pierce, touches upon the Luther case passed upon by Chief Justice Taney, and @ New York case decided in 1814 by Chief Justice Marshall, affirming the power of the President to call out the militia to suppress in- surrection. OUR EBONY IDOL. Present and Prospective Condition of | the Negro im His Home—Uncle Tom Without a Cabin—Questions of Labor, Production, Finance, Commerce and | Religion—Was Emancipation a Bless- ing? SAVANNAH, Ga., Oct. 5, 1874. Whether the negro will succeed in so shaping | the new condition of life imposed upon him as to secure the iull advantages of freedom and ad- vance the general welfare of his race is a ques- tion that can only be answered by another gen- eration. The experiment for nine years has cer- tainly not been encouraging, for except among the school children there are nowhere visible signs of mentalor moral improvement. At his feet were laid all the paraphernalia of the Freedmen’s Bureau, books and teachers and soldiers to protect him whenever he was threatened in his material interests. Northern men stood by to see that he was not imposed upon in making contracts, Churches were given to him in which to worship, and the government spent millions of doilars to supply him with rations while prepaming for the start upon his new career. Never did a people begin life with fairer opportunities for success or greater inducements to achieve it, Thus far, however, the country may look in vain for substantial re- sults from all this effort in behaifofr the nation’s wards, except in one respect, Polttically his vote has been conscientiously given to the republican party since the hour when he was entitled to the bailot. Thatis all. Other phases of his present condition lt may be interesting to analyze here, First, UNCLE TOM 18 WITHOUT HIS CABIN! It is @ significant fact that, while there has been | ® coustant demand for negro labor and at good | prices, not one in five hundred owns the | cabin in which he lives, Land may be | had for @ song and be paid for out of the crop; yet somehow the black man fails either to buy or produce, though the end of a | season will find in the pooket of almost every | worker, if he has not ‘‘wasted his substance in | riotous ilving,” from $150 to $200, and more than | double this sum if the family have assisted. It 1s, however, one of the curious resuits of emancipa- tion that fleld labor has been almost entirely aban- doned by the females and children, The former, in imitation of the whites, look after home affairs, | and perhaps the latter goto school, Around the | cities, where negroes do more or less of ‘job work,” you will now and then find a shanty which 18 the property of the occupant. If he takes board. | ers, which is not unfrequently the case, it will | be crowded worse than a tenement house in Bax | ter street, and the surroundings are anything but | | Savory. But he does not like to pay taxes on ever | 80 little, and eventually, uniess he has become | quite well to do, he pulls up stakes, emigrates and relapses into his former condition, The ordinary hut of the lower class of negroes is simpiy 4 pile of logs laid at right angles, with a door and one or two wooden window shutters, and @ chimney out- side, Within, you will find a few planks knocked together for a bedstead, sorry looking blankets and bedclothes, and in all sorts of odd atensils the provisions with which they live from hand to mouth, In short, the negro ts taking care of him- sel/, and Knows none of the best how to doit, Is it @ wonder that the rate of mortality among them, and especially among the children, is go great? UNCLE TOM’S LABOR. | | can thus insensibly exere! | reminds me of the bitter lampoon | written on the death of the first named Prince. It The Southern people view with no little concern the gradual depreciation of colored labor. Those who grew up na state of slavery and acauired industrious habits will stilt work, though with lead result by fifty per cent than formerly. The rising generation have no such habits, and are not likely ever to become productive members of society. It igeven more diMcult to obtain and retain @ faithful negro servant here than an Irish servant at tne North, They come and go at will, stay long enough to earn a few dollars to spend, then leave and find another place when their tunds are ex- bausted. Unfortunately, desirable as is an educa tion, thetr improvement in books 1s temporarily having the effect of teaching the poor creatures to aim above the level which somebody must always occupy in the social scale, Should these influences continue the blacks will gradually work themselves out of employment, and thelr laces will be supplied by industrious and willing borers Of another race. It must not be under- stood irom the foregoing remarks that the people of the South are averse to tne education of the colored race, On the contrary, they are using every effort for the moral amelioration of the negro, and desire his advancement, He was [re- quently taught to read and write before the war, in order that his usefulness might be augmented, and to-day Georgia 18 anpuery expending $365,000 as a school fund, the benefit of which is equally divided between the whites and the blacks, ‘Tne colored people are also establishing lodyes of the Order of Good Templars for the promotion of tem- yerance and private benevolence among them. there are already some fouriecen oF filteen lodges in this State sno. cessiul Operation, under the direction of the white Grand Lodge, and one tn Atlanta now numbers between 300 and 400 members, these things show how the people of Georgia are striving to solve the problem of the negro’s wee fare, and how they view any present demoraliza- tion a8 one of the natural and possibly to be ex- pected stages in his progress, believing that time ana experience will eventually cause the scales to drop trom bis eyes and enable him to see clearer than now how he may become a uselul member of society and coworker with themselves. In Savan- nah the Commissioners of Public Schools have made provision for 1,400 colored pupils, and re- cently secured premises in which 600 more may be educated. Kleven teachers are colored and three are white. In Macon the colored public school ts one of the handsomest edifices in the city. In Atlanta they have a colored col- Jege which annually receives from the State.the same donation that is given to the white college—to wit, $8,000—besides schools amply capacious for the accommodation of all who seek admission. The whites of Georgia do not, there- fore, a8 many suppose at the North, “hate the nigger.” If they do, tmis 18 certainly a curious method of showing their antipathy, COTTON PRODUCTION. It1s not an argument against the idleness of the negro that the production of cotton has been s@ weil maintained since the war. First, @ large aud unusual amount of white labor has been applied to the crop. Secondly, vy the use of lertilizers one acre has been made to perform the work of three acres, and the crop in northern sections kas heen thus hastened to iruition in time to anticipate the early frost, which bejore the war was aimost anou- ally destructive. The upper poruons of Georgia, South Carolina, ‘Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia, through this means have been thrown open to cotton culture and utilized, and hence the deficiency of other lo- calities has been supplied, As an illustration of the great changes that have taken place within @ few years, tue pening of the Air Line Railroad has fed to an increase of cotton im the neighbor- hood through which it eral @ thousandiold, while in the great South belt—the home of the staple—tne decline amounts to forty or fifty per cent. the one place white labor is doing the bulk of the work; in the other the black man, ‘Time will demonstrate whether, with such @ small minority of labor, the whites, even with all their agricultural advantages and all the profit likely to accrue therefrom, can without accessions main- tain the crop at the present standard and estab- lish a basis of calcniation on which the capitals and manufacturer may safely count his gains, THE IDOL AS A CHRISTIAN. It is an unfortunate fact that in religious mat- ters the negroes, since their separation from the whites in the churches, have gone into every vari- ety of excesses, both in worship and belief. Some of their congregations are little better than so miany pandemonia, where you may witness the wildest spasma, the most approved iorms of Ghris- Vianized catalepsy, and sometimes death itselt Giving loose rein to naturally excitable natures, they exhaust themselves in an ideal torm jora- tion until at last faith has degenerated into super. Stition, Wherein @ spook has more power than @ preacher. Among the ignorant, voudou practices are rife, and a bit of eroune: glass, sewed up in @ cotton bag oscattered upon a door siil is regarded a3 a charm that will irighten away every UL Witchcrait, sorcery and conjuring are growing consequences of the general demoralization. They are worse now than beiore the war, for the blacks have not the restraining influences o1 better, asse- Ciation and example. NEGRO SUFFRAGE. Where the ballots of the negro are throwp with- out invelligence and under the influence of false and wicked representations, and where the race control in publie affairs, is is impossible ior a good government te exist. Abad man from the North may come here, oes himself a radical, and in three months so lar Win the confidence of these ignorant people as that they will follow his advice blindly to the pistol point. The love for the old master is for- gotten, ali the benefits of past or present life are ignored, and jor no ovher reason than that this man 1s believed by them to represent what they cali liberty, and, oad as he may be, they will obey nis voice as if he were an autocrat, and do his bidding like slaves. 1tis for this reason that the people of the south never have been able to ma. political headway with the negroes, and evi as republicans have been thrown aside for the carpet-oagger and thief. Itis onlya little while ago that the race made deposits of their savings in the Freedman’s Bank. ‘To-day it is said to be a hopelessly insolvent institution and yet the poor dupe takes no lesson, and even kisses the hand that gave the cruel blow. Itisa curious race, A year or two ago one of their number, Northern negro, named Alvah Peoria Bradley, went among them and coilected their poll taxes, amounting to several hundred dollars, and de- camped, He is now back again seeking lor office or another swindle, and it will not be astonishing U, for no other reason than that heis a Boston radical, he succeeds in securing under some plundering pretext a considerable share of Ubeir year’s ard earnings. It is this class of people to whom the _ whites reier, when they say, “Let us alone!” It is but fair to say, however, that even if there were ne@ radical party in the State or nation the negro, as | a voter, would probably still be a political evil, for he would naturally aMiiate with that class of whites who approach him nearest in character and condition, and who wre base enough to cheat him out of his ballot for no other object than to put the worst elements of society forward in the admintstration of the government. If the colored Man were less afflicted with political prejudice there would be less danger of political corruption, for the whites have the strongest inducements to secure to him all of his rights as a citizen, and to promote mutual harmony and prosperity. Tois they have sought in vain to do ever since the close of the war, nor will they succeed in the tuture until the chief disorganizing element of the country ig removed by moral force—I mean the carpet-bagger, THE SPENDTHRIFT PRINOES. New YORK, Oct. 6, 1874, To THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD:— Your article in this day’s HERALD on the “Princely Extravagance of the Three Princes of Wales”—Frederie, George and Albert | Edward— that was was called an epitaph, but it expressed the toath- ing and contempt the English people of that day felt for the greedy, grasping, licentious royal house that the great whig families of the aris tocracy had seated on the throne of England te keep out the Stuarts or ‘the Commonweaitn.” & quote trom memory :— ‘AN EPITAPH. Here lies Fred, Who was alive and is dead. Had it been his tather Thad mach rather, Had it been his mother It were better than another. Had it been his sister, No one would have mis'd her. Had it been the whole goneration It were better for the nation, But since 'tis only Fred, Who was alive and is dead, There's no more to be sai Respectfully yours, Rm THE AROTIC REGION. European Commerce Endeavoring for @ New Vent to Asia. [From tne London Telegraph, Sept. 26.) Captain Wiggins nas just returned to Dundee, tm the steamship Diana, from a voyage of explore tion in the Arctic regions, having started from that port on the 4th of June last. His object was to reach the Guif of Obi by way of the Kara Sea, 1n order to ascertain whether commerce could be carried on by water between Europe and As He arrived at the mouth of the Gull on the 5th August, and then returned home, alter having en- deavored to find the Austrian expedition, Cape tain Wiggins is of opinion that the Kara Sea wil be entirely open till the miadle of Uctober, an sees no reason why steam navigation should ne be carried on angually between Kogiand and the Gull of Obi. Physical Requirements for Polar Navie gation. [From the Eastern Budget (Vienna), Sept. 24.) It is remarkable that the sailors who took par’ in the Austrian Polar expedition all come from the coast of the Adriatic, near Fiume, Weyprecht selected these men in North Germans and Norwegians, be that they would endure ng of op the cold of Potar rea better than northerners; and the hardships of thé to have had rathet @ 0 chi certainly seem healt ex; beneficial effect than otherwise on theit nd golrite