The portrait of Sir Francis Bacon in the 1640’s edition of the Advancement of Learning when superimposed upon that of William Shakspere appearing in the first found folios of the Shaksperian plays established beyond all cavil the identity of the two faces. No important structural dissimilarity can be found between them, the differences in appearance being solely the result of superficial lines of shading, the addition of the hat and beard, and the arrangement of the hair. The Van Somer portrait of Bacon -- one of the few in which the statesman is depicted bareheaded -- shows the high, prominent forehead, which is a feature accentuated in the Droeshout portrait. The crudeness of the Droeshout portrait, which ha provoked adverse criticism from Shakesperian enthusiasts for over three centuries, appears to be an essential part of a scheme to mutilate beyond possibility of recognition the features of Lord Bacon. In a transposition cipher discovered by Dr. H. A. W, Speckman the letters of the words “It was” in the second line of Ben Jonson’s verse. To the Reader, may be exchanged for the letters of the name, F. Baco. The method of decoding the cipher is to transpose an alphabet of 22 letters six spaces to the right, when by exchanging the letters in the lower column for those in the upper the significant letters are discovered. Thus (counting V as W):

A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P Q R S T V X Z

S T V X Z A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P Q R

The opening lines of Ben Johnson’s verse then read:

“This figure, that thou here seest put,

F. Baco for gentle Shakespeare cut.”