of Secret Writing. &5 



tion, and consequently multiplies not only labour, but also the 

 possibility of error. A comparison between the phrases he has 

 written, and the number of dots or lines he employs, gives, for 

 result, at least three dots or lines, as composing the symbols of 

 each letter ; and when he uses the letters of the alphabet, at 

 least two of these are employed to form the symbols of one 

 natural letter. 



The cipher proposed by Lord Bacon is still more defective in 

 this respect, as it requires five symbols for one letter, which five 

 symbols are translated into five other symbols, and thus, in fact, 

 one natural letter requires ten symbols, or one symbol composed 

 of ten parts. The present system has the advantage of employ- 

 ing the most easy and familiar symbols, and but one of these to 

 denote one letter ; and a single operation of hand and mind 

 suffice to express each natural letter, the number of which con- 

 tained in any sentence is, notwithstanding the additional sym- 

 bols, not less, and may even be greater, than the number of 

 symbols necessary to write it in cipher. The time which this 

 mode of secret writing requires more than common writing, is 

 the time which the cipherer employs to raise his eyes from the 

 paper on which he writes, to the key of the cipher, there to find 

 the symbol, and then to transcribe it on his paper. A good dis- 

 position of the key facilitates this labour, and habit still further 

 diminishes the loss of time ; but the trouble of transcription is 

 inevitable in every cipher where substitution is used. 



The principles upon which this cipher is constructed are such, 

 the values of the symbols are so perpetually changing, their 

 variations are disguised under so much apparent irregularity, 

 their progress has so little conformity with any discoverable law, 

 that detection is next to impossible. In order to ascertain this, 

 however, it is submitted to the following test. A sentence com- 

 posed of 198 letters is here written in its natural characters, 

 intelligible to every person who can read English, and is then 

 ciphered in five different ways. If the clue is really discover- 

 able, this specimen is sufficient to detect it ; and the person who 

 unravels it will then be able to decipher another sentence con- 

 sisting of i9 letters, which is also ciphered in five different man- 



