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FRANCIS BACON'S CRYPTIC RHYMES 115
gesture, not one sound disturbed the flow of his speech,
when he launched out into his eloquent phrases,
abounding with witticisms flashing and bursting forth
like fireworks upon the delighted audience.
Doubtless, many a great political word is spoken at
the tables of our leading statesmen of to-day, and at
their clubs, but I
question whether the general conver
sation on those occasions will compare with the " Tabletalk"
in which the former Lord High
Chancellor of
England indulged for we know, from what secretary
;
Rawley tells us, that the most serious topics alternated
with stories of humour and wit. But, once the spirit of
joviality had broken loose, there was none (and there
is no one to-day) could vie with our host. And for a
good reason too! For was it not "Shakespeare"
himself relating and improvising his " stories, Shakes
peare," the author of Falstaff, the poet whose plays
still so delight us, as if they had been written in our
own day
!
But to return to our table-talk, to our anecdotes.
We have already discovered many passages in
Bacon's works resembling, both in spirit and form,
thoughts expressed in the Plays one feature, however,
;
still remains to be mentioned, which must be counted
among the most characteristic, as it is common both to
the " Apophthegmes " and to the Plays ;
we refer to
the evaded rhymes.
The whole will be made clear to us by the anecdote
we have chosen to begin with, as it contains a hint as
to how we must set to work.
Fabricius, in conference with Pyrrhus, was tempted to revolt
to him ; Pyrrhus telling him, that he should be partner of his