cellor for 20 years; but as queen Elizabeth's reign was more remarkable for her minifters gaining honour, then for their gaining riches, he left this his fon Francis, who was the youngest of five, but a very fmall fortune, fo that he was obliged to betake himself to the profeffion of the law for a fubfiftence, for which purpofe he A entered himself of Gray's-Inn, and foon became fo eminent in that profeffion, that at the age of 28 he was appointed by queen Elizabeth her learned counfel extraordinary.

As Sir William Cecil, lord-treasurer to queen Elizabeth, afterwards lord Burleigh, had married our young gentleman's aunt, or mother's fifter, he frequently applied to him for fome place of credit and fervice in the flate; but Sir William never got any thing for him, except the reverfion of the office of register to the farchamber, then reckoned worth 16col. a year, which did not fall to him till near twenty years afterwards; and as he probably thought himfelf neglected by his C uncle, he attached himself ftrongly to the earl of Effex, which of courfe made his uncle, and alfo his coutin Sir Robert Cecil, his enemy; for when the earl, a little before his fall, warmly follicited his being made follicitor-general, it was oppofed by his coufin Sir Robert, who reprefented him to the queen, as a man of mere fpeculation, and more likely to dif tract her affairs, than to ferve her usefully and with proper judgment; and as the earl found he could not ferve him in this way, he gave him a recompence out of his own eftate, by making him a prefent of Twitenham-park and its garden of paradife.

with the publick was fo well re-established, that upon a question in the house of commons, whether the attorney-general could be a member of that houfe, as he was an officer who was obliged to attend upon the other, the queftion was carried in the affirmative out of a particular regard to him, and it was therefore declared, that it should be no precedent.

With regard to politicks, Sir Francis Bacon appears to have been a mere timeferver, an humble fuitor to every minifter he thought uppermoft, and his profecutor as foon as down. His behaviour towards the earl of Effex we have already feen: After that earl's death he attached B himfelf to his coufin Sir Robert Cecil, fecretary of state, and afterwards earl of Salisbury, tho' he knew him to be privately no true friend, and accordingly during his life, he never rofe higher than to be follicitor-general. He then made his court to the earl of Somerset, who had become a favourite,, and was created vifcount Rochefter, juft before the death of Salisbury; and by his means it probably was that Sir Francis was made attorney-general, a place then worth 600l. a year, as he himself acknowledged. Upon Somerfet's fall, Sir Francis Bacon, then attorney-general, became one of his chief profecutors; and from that time began to make his court to Villiers, afterwards duke of Buckingham, to whom he was fo fubfervient, that he fubmitted to be a fort of fteward for thofe great estates beftowed upon this young favourite by the king. However, it appears from his letters and other writings that he generally gave good advice to his patrons, but when he found they would not follow his, he was ready to follow theirs without referve; tho' it does not appear that he was any way concerned in the treasonable practices of the earl of Effex, which was perhaps more owing to his want of courage than his want of ambition.

Upon this unfortunate nobleman's fall, E Mr. Bacon, as one of the queen's counfel, was employed by the crown, along with Sir Edward Coke, the attorney-general, to manage the trial against his lordship; and his ambition got fo far the better of his gratitude, that he not only accepted of the employment, but after the earl's execution, he at the defire of F the minifters, wrote and publifhed that piece ftill extant among his works, intitled, A Declaration of the Treasons of Robert Earl of Elex.

This quite ruined him in the publick efteem, which was probably the defign of the minifters, and perhaps did him no fervice in the opinion of his fovereign; but fuch was the brightnefs of his parts, that he foon recovered both in the next reign; for he was knighted by king James I. foon after his acceffion, in 1607 he was made follicitor-general, and in 1613, when he was made attorney-general, his character

As Sir Francis was extremely fubmif five, and often ufeful to his patrons, fo he was diligent, and but too ready to use any means for getting the better of thofe he thought his rivals, as appeared upon the refignation of the old lord-chancellor Egerton in 1617. The feals he was highly ambitious of, and as he looked upon Sir Edward Coke as his rival, he took care to reprefent him to the king and Buckingham, as one who abounded in his G own fenfe, and who by an affectation of popularity was likely to court the good will of the people, at the hazard of the prerogative. In this he was the more eafily believed, as Sir Edward had been but the year before turned out from being

FRANCIS BACON

VISCOUNT

For the London Magazine

ALBANS

Publish'd by R.Baldroin Jun! at the Rose in Pater Noster Row

CHANCELLOR

Walker Scree

1753. The LIFE of Sir FRANCIS BACON.

chief-juftice, because the minifters found him not fo ductile as they inclined he fhould. Accordingly the feals were deTivered to Sir Francis with the title of lord-keeper; and, as Buckingham found him ready to put the feals to every patent, and every thing he defired, he got him created lord high-chancellor of England A and baron of Verulam in 1619, and the year following viscount of St. Albans.

How short-lived do we often find human greatnefs! In 1621, king James was forced to call a parliament, and as the nation was highly diffatisfied with the conduct both of Buckingham and the chancellor, the houfe of commons fet on

foot a ftrict fcrutiny into the conduct of B
both. King James wanted money fo
much, that he could not diffolve them, but
to divert them from the profecution of
his favourite Buckingham, the monopolies
and illegal patents were all cancelled and
recalled by proclamation, and the court
promoted under-hand the profecution of
the chancellor; in confequence of which he
was impeached by the houfe of commons
of corrupt practices, in caufes depending
before him, as chief judge of equity; fo
entirely had he loft that great character,
which but 7 years before he had among
the commons, when he was made attor-
ney-general.

C

25

ney, that he was confiderably in debt, occafioned by his indulgence to his fervants, and his being cheated and defrauded by them: Nay, his condemnation was chiefly owing to their exactions and the bribes they had taken whilft he was chancellor, tho it is plain he was not influenced by them in his decrees, as no one of them was ever reverfed. And at last he became fenfible of his error with refpect to his fervants; for during his profecution, as he was paffing through a room where they were fitting, upon fight of him they all food up, on which he cried: "Sit down, my mafters; your rife hath been my fall."

The king foon releafed him from the Tower, made a grant of his fine to fome truftees for his benefit, and fettled upon him a penfion of 18col. a year; but as he applied moft of his income to the payment of his debts, he lived always after in a very mean condition; and tho' the king in a fhort time afterwards granted him a full and entire pardon of his whole fentence, whereupon he was fummoned to the first parliament of king Charles I. yet he did not live long to enjoy these favours; for as he was making fome expe riments at Highgate, he was fuddenly ftruck in the head and stomach, and being carried to the earl of Arundel's houte there, he expired after a week's illness, D April 9, 1626, without any iffue by his wife, who was a daughter of alderman Barnham of London, whom he married when about the age of 40, and with whom he received a plentiful fortune.

As the court thought that his condemnation and punishment would fatisfy the commons, and divert them entirely from the profecution of Buckingham, but were at the fame time afraid, that if he appeared and stood upon his defence, his eloquence and what he had to offer against the charge, might procure an acquittal, they commanded him not to appear in perfon, but to fend a confeffion of all he E was accufed of to the houfe in writing; which arbitrary command he was fo faintHearted as to comply with, trufting to the king's promife, that he should have a pardon, and a remiffion of his fine, together with a penfion during life; and upon his confeffion he was fentenced to pay a fine of 40,000l. to be imprisoned in the Tower during the king's pleafure, to be for ever incapable of any office, place or employment in the commonwealth; and never to fit again in parliament, or come within the verge of the court.

F

Thus this great man was made the fcape-goat, as it often happens, for a bigber criminal; and tho' he had in his life-time got a great deal of money by his G pofts and his profeffion, for he was in Every great caufe that happened whilft he was at the bar, yet he had purchafed but a very small eftate of about 600l. a year, and was to far from having any ready mo-, January, 1753.

Notwithstanding the great hurry and bufle he appears to have been concerned in, from his first entering upon business, to the moment of his condemnation, yet even during that busy time he often employed himfelf in making experiments, and published fome of his philofophical works, which is a proof of the vast ex tent of his genius. From them it appears, that he may juftly be reckoned the chief among those who first began to free the world from the flavish chains of the old fcholaftick learning, and to introduce true philofophy, and useful knowledge; therefore, whatever he may have deferved for. his politicks from the generation in which he lived, to pofterity his memory has been, and will always be facred.

To conclude, his character feems to have been a perfect contraft; for he appears to have been ambitious, yet daftardly; ftudious, yet bustling; avaritious, yet negligent of money; virtuous, yet venal fond of a character, yet ready to facrifice it upon every occafion; and of a penetrating and folid judgment in all forts of literature,

D

Iterature, but weak in the conduct of
Jife. If he had confined his ambition
to that of being a great philofopher and
a learned man, as he had friends enough
to have provided for him in fome fine cure
poft that would have furnished him a
handsome fubfiftence, he might have
lived happily, and died with glory un- A
fullied; but he affected to be a statesman,
and might indeed have been an useful
minister to a great and wife prince; but
as his lot was under a weak one, and
as he had not the refolution to ad-
here to the counfels he gave, he lived
in continual agonies, and died under a
publick reproach. How common is it
for men, even of the moft fhining ta- B
Jents, to mistake the true road to hap-
piness!

On Jan. 4, a new Paper, intitled, The
WORLD, by ADAM FITZ-ADAM,
made its fir Appearance, to be conti-
nued every Thursday. Its defign is, bu-
morously to expofe and correct the Vices and C
Follies of the Age; wbich will appear
by the following Extract from this firft
Paper.

W
Hoever is acquainted with the wri-
tings of thofe eminent practitioners
in phyfick, who make their appearance
either in hand bills, or in the weekly
or daily papers, will fee clearly that
there is a certain and invariable method
of fpeaking of one's felf to every body's
fatisfaction. I fhall therefore introduce
my own importance to the publick,
as near as I can, in the manner and
words of thofe gentlemen; not doubt-
ing of the fame credit, and the fame ad-
vantages.

ADVERTISEMENT.

The
O be spoke with every Thursday at

Ꭰ

art of mourning. He gives common fenfe to philofophers, candour to difputants, modefty to criticks, decency to men of fashion, and frugality to tradefmen. For farther particulars, enquire at the place above mentioned, or of any of the kings and princes in Europe, Afia, Africa, or America.

N. B. The doctor performs his operations by lenitives and alteratives; never applying corrofives, but when inveterate ill habits have rendered gentler methods ineffectual.

Having thus fatisfied the publick of my amazing abilities, and having, no doubt, raised its curiofity to an extraordinary height, I fhall defcend, all at once, from my doctorial dignity, to addrefs myself to my readers as the the author of a weekly paper of amusement, called, The WORLD.

My defign in this paper is to ridicule, with novelty and good-humour, the fashions, follies, vices and abfurdities of that part of the human fpecies which calls itfelf the WORLD, and to trace it thro' all its bufinefs, pleasures and amusements. But tho' my fubjects will chiefly confine me to the town, I do not mean never to make excurfions into the country; on the contrary, when the profits of thefe lucubrations have enabled me to fet up a one-horfe chair, I fhail take frequent occafions of inviting my reader to a feat in it, and of driving him to fcenes of pure air, tranquillity and innocence, from fmoke, hurry and intrigue.

My readers will, I hope, excufe me, if they should find me very sparing E of motto's to these effays. I know very well, that a little Latin or Greek, to thofe who understand no language but English, is both fatisfactory and entertaining. It gives an air of dignity to a paper, and is a convincing proof, that the author is a perfon of profound learning and erudition. But in the opinion of those who are in the fecret of fuch motto's, the custom is, as Shakepear fays, more honoured in the breach than the obfervance; a motto being generally chofen after the effay is written, and hardly ever having affinity to it thro' two paragraphs together. But I have a ftronger reafon for declining this cuftem: It is, that the follies I intend frequently to treat of, and the characters I fhall from time to time exhibit to my readers, will be fuch as the Greeks and Romans were entirely unacquainted with. It may perhaps be expected, before I difmifs this paper, that I should take a

Firz-Adam; who after 40 years travel thro'
all the parts of the known and unknown
world;
after having inveftigated all fei-
ences, acquired all languages, and en-
tered into the deepest receffes of nature
and the paffions, is at laft, for the e-
molument and glory of his native coun-
try, returned to England; where he un-
dertakes to cure all the difeafes of the
human mind. He cures lying, cheat-
ing, fwearing, drinking, gaming, ava-
rice and ambition in the men; and
envy, flander, coquetry, prudery, va-
nity, wantonnefs and inconftancy in G
the women. He undertakes, by a safe,
pleafant and fpeedy method, to get huf-
bands for young maids, and good-hu-
mour for old ones. He inftru&ts wives,
after the eafest and newest fashion, in
the art of pleafing, and widows in the

*Printed for R. Podfley, in Pall Mall,

little