AYTOUN, WILLIAM EDMONSTONE (1813-1865).--Poet and humorist, _s._ of Roger
A., a Writer to the Signet, was _b._ in Edinburgh and _ed._ there, and
was brought up to the law, which, however, as he said, he "followed but
could never overtake." He became a contributor to _Blackwood's Magazine_
in 1836, and continued his connection with it until his death. In it
appeared most of his humorous prose pieces, such as _The Glenmutchkin
Railway_, _How I Became a Yeoman_, and _How I Stood for the Dreepdaily
Burghs_, all full of vigorous fun. In the same pages began to appear his
chief poetical work, the _Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers_, and a novel,
partly autobiographical, _Norman Sinclair_. Other works were _The Bon
Gaultier Ballads_, jointly with Theodore Martin, and _Firmilian, a
Spasmodic Tragedy_, under the _nom-de-plume_ of T. Percy Jones, intended
to satirise a group of poets and critics, including Gilfillan, Dobell,
Bailey, and Alexander Smith. In 1845 A. obtained the Chair of Rhetoric
and Belles Lettres in Edinburgh University, which he filled with great
success, raising the attendance from 30 to 150, and in 1852 he was
appointed sheriff of Orkney and Shetland. He was married to a _dau._ of
Professor Wilson (Christopher North).


BACON, FRANCIS, LORD VERULAM, AND VISCOUNT ST. ALBAN'S
(1561-1626).--Philosopher and statesman, was the youngest _s._ of Sir
Nicholas B., Lord Keeper, by his second wife, a _dau._ of Sir Anthony
Cooke, whose sister married William Cecil, Lord Burghley, the great
minister of Queen Elizabeth. He was _b._ at York House in the Strand on
Jan. 22, 1561, and in his 13th year was sent with his elder brother
Anthony to Trinity Coll., Cambridge. Here he first met the Queen, who was
impressed by his precocious intellect, and was accustomed to call him
"the young Lord Keeper." Here also he became dissatisfied with the