Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE RETORT COURTEOUS. (Being a Reply to an Article Rejecting the
Cipher Story ) TUST after correcting the proofs of the preceding Essay, my attention was drawn to an article by Mr. G. C. Bompas, in Baconiana for January, 1901. As that gentleman takes an entirely different view of the
Cipher Story, it seems to me desirable in this place to give my comments upon his article. I gather the following to be the main points put forward by Mr. Bompas against the truth of the
Cipher Story : ? 1. That the book is published to bolster up the works of a certain American author, Dr. Owen. 2. That the disclosures in Mrs. Gallup’s book are in direct conflict with Francis Bacon’s own statements in his authentic work,
The Felicities of Elizabeth. 3. That in the light of the ascertained facts of history, the story may be rejected as fabulous. I therefore deal with the points in the above order. 1. While it would appear to be in accordance with modern literary manners to suggest that any person favouring the Baconian view of the authorship of the Shakespearian Plays is a
crank, or
quarter educated, I was unprepared to find a writer in Baconiana ready to impute sinister motives to a new worker in the field of research. As to the likelihood of a cipher, so careful a thinker as Mr. W. F. C. Wigston has borne testimony, but it seems to be the fate of those who work in that particular direction to meet with nothing but contumely and reproach. The late Mr. Donelly, with his mathematical cipher has just gone to his grave
unwept, unhonoured, and unsung. Of his monumental compilation, known as the
Great Cryptogram, published at 30s., I was able to secure a copy for 5s. Dr. Owen, with his
Word Cipher, has broken down through ill-health, and now Mr. Bompas p…