ibly be traced in his rapid progress at the Bar,
and in his receiving, in 1589, the reversion to the Clerkship of the
Star Chamber, a valuable appointment, into the enjoyment of which,
however, he did not enter until 1608. About 1591 he formed a friendship
with the Earl of Essex, from whom he received many tokens of kindness ill
requited. In 1593 the offices of Attorney-general, and subsequently of
Solicitor-general became vacant, and Essex used his influence on B.'s
behalf, but unsuccessfully, the former being given to Coke, the famous
lawyer. These disappointments may have been owing to a speech made by B.
on a question of subsidies. To console him for them Essex presented him
with a property at Twickenham, which he subsequently sold for L1800,
equivalent to a much larger sum now. In 1596 he was made a Queen's
Counsel, but missed the appointment of Master of the Rolls, and in the
next year (1597), he _pub._ the first edition of his _Essays_, ten in
number, combined with _Sacred Meditations_ and the _Colours of Good and
Evil_. By 1601 Essex had lost the Queen's favour, and had raised his
rebellion, and B. was one of those appointed to investigate the charges
against him, and examine witnesses, in connection with which he showed an
ungrateful and indecent eagerness in pressing the case against his former
friend and benefactor, who was executed on Feb. 25, 1601. This act B.
endeavoured to justify in _A Declaration of the Practices and Treasons,
etc., of ... the Earl of Essex, etc._ His circumstances had for some time
been bad, and he had been arrested for debt: he had, however, received a
gift of a fine of L1200 on one of Essex's accomplices. The accession of
James VI. in 1603 gave a favourable turn to his fortunes: he was
knighted, and endeavoured to set himself right with the new powers by
writing his _Apologie_ (defence) of his proceedings in the case of Essex,
who had favoured the succession of James. In the first Parliament of the
new king he sat for St. Alban's, and was appointed a Commissioner for
Union with Scotland. In 1605 he _pub._ _The Advancement of Learning_,
dedicated, with fulsome flattery, to the king. The following year he
married Alice Barnham, the _dau._ of a London merchant, and in 1607 he
was made Solicitor-General, and wrote _Cogita et Visa_, a first sketch of
the _Novum Organum_, followed in 1609 by _The Wisdom of the Ancients_.
Meanwhile (in 1608), he had entered upon the Clerkship of the Star
Cham