-54-
22) Then on page 67
of the Histories, in the play of The
First Part of King Henry the Fourth, in the first column, about 13 lines
from the bottom is “S. Albones”, referring to Saint Albans.
If we know
then that Bacon, would sign his name according to his title, then we can see
his signature of “Francis St. Albans” in two parts (the page number and the
town) on the page. Keep in mind that Bacon wrote that ciphers should be
“without suspicion” and that ciphering is “an Art” requiring “a good witt” (pg.
270 of the 1640 Advancement). Here is
his signature after he became Baron Verulam in 1618:
And then
after he became Viscount St Alban is 1621:
And here is
an instance of the spelling of St. Albones instead of Albans:
“one way, but the Wife
goeth another. . . .
He loat his
Peerage and Seal, and the Scale was wavering whether he should carry the Tide of Viscount St. Albones to his
grave, and that was all he did ; having only left a poor empty
fyeing, which lasted not long with him, his honour dying before him. “
The town is
spelt 5 ways in the First Folio: Albans, Albones, Albone, Albons, Albon. Not
counting the Parts 2 and 3 of Henry VI,
as well as the play Richard III,
which all have either a scene set in St. Albans or references to it related to
the historical War of the Roses, there are 199 pages that could have it
mentioned (since they all take place in England). These pages are from King John, Richard II, Henry Fourth parts I
and II, Henry V, Henry VIII, Henry VI part 1, and Merry Wives of Windsor. In
these 199 pages St. Albans is only mentioned twice, on pages 67 and 81, neither
time being any kind of historical reference. Only significant signature page
numbers of 33, 67, 100, and 111 exist within this set and only 67 (Francis)
would provide the counterpart for his St Albans’ signature. Of minor interest, if
Bacon and Shakespeare had some connection to Freemasonry, is that the number 81
is considered a very sacred number in the higher degrees of Freemasonry. This
is stated in Albert Mackey’s Encyclopedia
of Freemasonry and its Kindred Sciences under the section on ‘nine’.
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