must have suffered from neglect incident to pursuit of office; and, failing to obtain relief by preferment, he concluded to try the last resort of a respectable beggary,-marriage for money.

The object of his speculative design was Lady Hatton, a lively young widow, sandwiched between a great fortune and a bad temper. He enlisted Essex in this enterprise

"My suit to your Lordship," he writes, "is for your several letters to be left with me, dormant, to the gentlewoman, and either of her parents; wherein I do not doubt but as the beams of your favor have often dissolved the coldness of my fortune, so, in this argument, your Lordship will do the like with your pen.”

With commendatory forethought, in order to provide for more than a single path to support, he adds:

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'My desire is, also, that your Lordship would vouchsafe unto me a general letter to My Lord Keeper, for his Lordship's holding me, from you recommended,—both in the course of my practice and in the course of my employment in Her Majesty's service."

The letter closes with some wise and friendly hints to the Earl, who was about setting out in charge of an expedition against the Spanish treasure-fleet. Bacon's timid and prudent nature regarded the eminence of his friend as a dangerous height, from which he might, at any time, have a fatal fall; and, therefore, did not approve, in his heart, of his undertaking. Essex, in the midst of his busy preparations, wrote a warm, earnest and eloquent endorsement of the suitor, who

must have been a cold lover, for nothing came of his marital candidacy. The lady shortly afterwards ran off with Sir Edward Coke, to whom she was married. Thus was another victory secured for the lawyer over the philosopher.

The ways of widows are inscrutable. Bacon was younger than Coke, was handsome, amiable and agreeable; Sir Edward was an ill-tempered, overbearing widower. There were, it was said, seven comprehensive and conclusive marital objections against Coke,-his six children and himself.

The loss of this lady was Bacon's first stroke of good fortune. Her disagreeable qualities amounted to disagreeable abilities. She led her husband such a life, that, had he been a more sensitive man, he must have sought relief in death or Doctor's Commons.

Bacon was a disappointed suitor, not a dejected lover. It is doubtful whether the author of the essay on "Marriage and Single Life" ever felt the tender passion, or confessed to the soft impeachment. Apropos to the runaway match of the great English lawyer, the following anecdote is recorded in Mr. F. F. Heard's "Oddities of the Law."

"In the year 1598, Sir Edward Coke, then AttorneyGeneral, married the Lady Hatton, according to the Book of Common Prayer, but without banns or license, and in a private house. Several great men were there present, as Lord Burleigh, Lord Chancellor Egerton, etc. They all, by their proctor, submitted to the censure of the archbishop, who granted them an absolution from the excommunication which they had incurred. The act of absolution set forth that it was granted by reason of penitence, and the act seeming to have been done through ignorance of the law."

In the parliament of 1597, to which Bacon was now returned, he became one of the most active and prominent members. He voted for a subsidy equal to the one he had opposed in his unfortunate speech; and his whole career indicated that he possessed the confidence and respect of the House, while it must have propitiated the Queen, and subdued her lively recollection of his early opposition to large grants and quick payments.

Essex, in the meanwhile, returned from his naval expedition, which was unsuccessful, as he failed to intercept the Spanish fleet. Sir Walter Raleigh, second in command, however, was fortunate enough to meet with three stragglers; he improved the opportunity for bravery and enterprise, as was his custom, and compelled them to strike their colors. He received, for his reward, the jealous enmity of the impulsive Essex, who was irritated by his own failure.

The Queen was not pleased with the result, nor with the management of Essex; for his fleet straggled home, and found the south coast alarmed by fears of dangers, from the channel being left entirely unprotected.

Essex retreated to his favorite asylum,—the sulks, from which he was lured by the Queen's partiality, who restored him fully to her good graces, honored him with promotions, and employed him to perform the offices of Secretary, in the absence of Sir Robert Cecil, who had been sent on a special mission to France. In his new capacity, Essex was called on to deal with affairs in Ireland which were of a serious nature. Bacon volunteered his advice, which was of a cautious character. The closing paragraph of the letter indi

cates a desire, on Bacon's part, for his friend to improve the opportunity, and a belief in his fitness to deal with the subject-matter:

"If your Lordship," he writes, “doubt to put your sickle in another's harvest; first, time brings it to you in Mr. Secretary's absence; next, being mixed with matter of war, it is fittest for you; and, lastly, I know your Lordship will carry it with that modesty and respect towards aged dignity, and that good correspondence towards my dear kinsman and your good friend now abroad, as no inconvenience may grow that way. Thus have I played the ignorant statesman, which I do to nobody but your Lordship; except the Queen, sometimes, when she trains me on. But your Lordship will accept my duty and good meaning, and secure me touching the privateness of that I write.”

Essex was pleased with Bacon's friendly interest and the sound advice; and, in reply, acquainted him with the situation, so that he might no longer play the "ignorant statesman," but advise from a more intelligent standpoint. Bacon replies; and, after saying, "I will shoot my fool's bolt, since you will have it so," proceeds to submit suggestions well worth the consideration of all concerned in the important issue. One paragraph of his letter is quoted, because it may throw some light on the question of what was Bacon's exact relation to Essex in this affair.

"And, but that your Lordship is too easy to pass, in such cases, from dissimulation to verity, I think if your Lordship lent your reputation in this case,—that is, to pretend that if peace go not on, and the Queen mean not to make a defensive war, as in times past, but a full re-conquest of those parts of the country, you would escape the charge,- I think

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it would help to settle Tyrone in his seeking accord, and win you a great deal of honor gratis."

The remainder of this letter abounds in wise counsel for establishing peace and prosperity in the rebellious isle.

Sir Robert Cecil having returned from France, the subject was further discussed, especially in respect to the selection of an officer for Ireland.

On this question, Essex quarrelled with the Queen, who boxed his ears. Then, of course, came the customary retirement from court, sulks, and reconciliation, which inspired a letter of congratulation from Bacon, in which, for the first time, he congratulated Essex as second to another in his consideration: "And, therefore, bearing unto your Lordship, after Her Majesty, of all public persons, the second duty, I could not but signify unto you my gratulation."

While Bacon was shooting his "fool's bolt," and playing "the ignorant statesman," his obligations were maturing. Extravagance, improvidence, attention to everything but nursing his paying practice (for he got nothing for his services to the Queen), laid him at the mercy of a money-lender, who consigned him to a sponging-house, for the non-payment of a debt of £300. He was released through the interposition of friends, but probably entered into liberty as a candidate for the debtor's gaol.

Cruel, indeed, would have fortune been to Bacon, if, in the midst of financial embarrassments and his lack of briefs, she had not cheered him with a single smile. The fact is that he was consoled by the consideration which he received at the Queen's hands. It put no