which was the joint manufactory of the patron and his eleve. As lately as the year 1666, Bacon's life formed the subject of a "famous history," from which Walter Scott has given us a facetious anecdote in the seventh volume (p. 10) of _Dryden's Works_. But the curious investigator of ancient times, and the genuine lover of British biography, will seize upon the more prominent features in the life of this renowned philosopher; will reckon up his great discoveries in optics and physics; and will fancy, upon looking at the above picture of his study, that an explosion from gun-powder (of which our philosopher has been thought the inventor) has protruded the palings which are leaning against its sides. Bacon's "_Opus Majus_," which happened to meet the eyes of Pope Clement IV., and which _now_ would have encircled the neck of its author with an hundred golden chains, and procured for him a diploma from every learned society in Europe--just served to liberate him from his first long imprisonment. This was succeeded by a subsequent confinement of twelve years; from which he was released only time enough to breathe his last in the pure air of heaven. Whether he expended 3000, or 30,000 pounds of our present money, upon his experiments, can now be only matter of conjecture. Those who are dissatisfied with the meagre manner in which our early biographers have noticed the labours of Roger Bacon, and with the _tetragonistical_ story, said by Twyne to be propagated by our philosopher, of Julius Caesar's seeing the whole of the British coast and encampment upon the Gallic shore, "maximorum ope speculorum" (_Antiquit. Acad. Oxon. Apolog._ 1608, 4to., p. 353), may be pleased with the facetious story told of him by Wood (_Annals of Oxford_, vol. i., 216, Gutch's edit.) and yet more by the minute catalogue of his works noticed by Bishop Tanner (_Bibl. Brit. Hibern._ p. 62): while the following eulogy of old Tom Fuller cannot fail to find a passage to every heart: "For mine own part (says this delightful and original writer) I behold the name of Bacon in Oxford, not as of an individual man, but corporation of men; no single cord, but a twisted cable of many together. And as all the acts of strong men of that nature are attributed to an Hercules; all the predictions of prophecying women to a Sibyll; so I conceive all the achievements of the Oxonian Bacons, in their liberal studies, are ascribed to ONE, as chief of the name." _Church History_, book iii., p. 96.] [Illustration]