The Baconian Mint. By William Willis. (Sampson Low, Marston, and
Co. 2s. net.)—A theory has been started that the diction of the plays of Shakespeare is largely classical, that many of these words were coined, that the Stratford-on-Avon Shakespeare could not possibly have done this coining, that it must have been the work of Bacon. This collection of words is called "the Baconian Mint." Mr. Willis has examined every word in it carefully, and the result of the examination is this : "I firmly believe that Lord Bacon did not enrich the English language by the addition of a single new word, nor by the use of a word in a new or unusual sense."' If any such words are to be found in the Folio Shakespeare, they were the creation of the writer of that Folio, not of Lord Bacon, as far as Lord Bacon's work can be judged by his acknowledged writings. Mr. Willis's method has been to trace out the ways of each "minted" word; they were current coin already.
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