e expression of his heart in the lines of the so-called
Shakespeare Sonnet:

"O, for my sake, do thou with fortune chide,
The guilty goddess of my harmful deeds,
That did not better for my life provide,
Than public means, which public manners breeds."

His pecuniary embarrassments were numerous, and continuous. Falstaff
doubtless expresses a thought which often recurred to him: "I can get no
remedy against this consumption of the purse; borrowing only lingers and
lingers it out, but the disease is incurable." More than once he was
thrown into a "sponging-house" for debt. His brother Anthony loaned him
money repeatedly. In 1592 a "hard Jew or Lombard" put him in confinement
for a debt on a bond. Anthony mortgaged his property to pay his debts.
In 1594 Malone believes the play of "The Merchant of Venice" was in
existence, in which Bassanio, being in debt to a hard Jew, his friend,
Antonius, mortgages his own flesh to help him out of his troubles; and
the Jew money-lender is sent down through all the ages the terrible type
and exemplar of the merciless usurer. Bacon continues a "briefless
barrister," with much time at his disposal. He helps in the composition
of the play called "The Misfortunes of Arthur." He writes a Sonnet to
the Queen. About this time, 1592, the Shakespeare plays begin to appear.
Bacon assists in the preparation of several "masks" and "revels," gotten
up by Gray's Inn. "The Comedy of Errors" first appears in the hall of
that society, which still stands in London. The "Venus and Adonis" and
"Lucrece" appear, dedicated to Bacon's intimate friend, Lord
Southampton; and that nobleman in 1594 contributes a large sum to the
construction of the _Globe_ play-house, Bacon having observed that the
stage is a powerful instrumentality to "play on the minds" of the
people; and on this stage a series of historical plays are put forth,
everyone of which represents kings as monsters or imbeciles.

The Shakespeare plays continue to be poured forth, and Bacon suffers
from a siege of "Jews and duns." He describes himself "as poor and sick,
working for bread." "I am purposed," he says, "not to follow the
practice of the law." "It is easier," says Mr. Spedding, Bacon's
biographer, "to understand why Bacon was resolved not to devote his life
to the ordinary practice of a lawyer, than what plan he had to clear
himself of the difficulties which were now accumulating upon him, and to
obtain the means of living and