any man should receive a present from another, and not
suffer his judgment to be swayed thereby. It need hardly be said that such
an _a priori_ conviction is not a sufficient basis on which to found a
sweeping condemnation of Bacon's integrity as an administrator of justice.
On the other hand, even if it be admitted to be possible and conceivable
that a present should be given by a suitor simply as seeking favourable
consideration of his cause, and not as desirous of obtaining an unjust
decree, and should be accepted by the judge on the same understanding, this
would not entitle one absolutely to accept Bacon's statement. Further
evidence is necessary in order to give foundation to a definite judgment
either way; and it is extremely improbable, nay, almost impossible, that
such can ever be produced. In these circumstances, due weight should be
given to Bacon's own assertions of his perfect innocence and purity of
intention; they ought not to be put out of court unless found in actual
contradiction to the facts, and the reverse of this is the case, so far as
has yet appeared.[45]

The remaining five years of his life, though he was still harassed by want
of means, for James was not liberal, were spent in work far more valuable
to the world than anything he had accomplished in his high office. In March
1622 he presented to Prince Charles his _History of Henry VII._; and
immediately, with unwearied industry, set to work to complete some portions
of his great work. In November 1622 appeared the _Historia Ventorum_; in
January 1622/3, the _Historia Vitae et Mortis_; and in October of the same
year, the _De Augmentis Scientiarum_, a Latin translation, with many
additions, of the _Advancement_. Finally, in December 1624, he published
his _Apophthegms_, and _Translations of some of the Psalms_, dedicated to
George Herbert; and, in 1625, a third and enlarged edition of the _Essays_.

Busily occupied with these labours, his life now drew rapidly to a close.
In March 1626 he came to London, and when driving one day near Highgate,
was taken with a desire to discover whether snow would act as an
antiseptic. He stopped his carriage, got out at a cottage, purchased a
fowl, and with his own hands assisted to stuff it with snow. He was seized
with a sudden chill, and became so seriously unwell that he had to be
conveyed to Lord Arundel's house, which was near at hand. Here his illness
increased, the cold and chill brought on bronchitis