Hincks on Secret Writing. 27 



be sure before he commences the task of deciphering, how 

 many of the simple characters he is to consider as coalescing 

 into a single complex one. The difficulty thus occasioned is 

 not eluded as easily as might at first be supposed, namely, by 

 trying first one number, then another, till the right one be ascer- 

 tained ; for, of the elementary characters, some may compose 

 perfect characters by themselves, while others are always found 

 as ingredients in complex ones. This is the case in Mr. B.'s 

 figure- cipher in the Cyclopaedia. To accommodate it to the 

 same key by which the other ciphers are read, it was necessary 

 to reduce the number of complex characters from 100 to 81. 

 This he accomplished by selecting one of the ten figures for a 

 perfect character, while the other nine were always used in 

 combination with each other. This 82nd character was used 

 by Mr. B. as a null, making the intervals between the different 

 words. By doubling it, and combining it with another complex 

 character of the same nature, the different stops in a sentence 

 might, with very little trouble, be expressed; but, if I recollect 

 right, this has not been attempted by Mr. B. The existence of 

 a single character of this sort may be detected by observing 

 what elementary character is never found with an odd number 

 of characters between its consecutive appearances ; this rule 

 however fails, if more than one such character be found in the 

 system. Other contrivances increasing the confusion produced 

 by complex characters to those ignorant of the key, but afford- 

 ing no additional trouble to him that possesses it, whether for 

 writing or reading, have at different times occurred to me ; and 

 I have formed out of them a system, which I think possesses as 

 much practical utility as any literal cipher hitherto published, 

 the key being extremely simple, and yet of such a nature as 

 even if it were intercepted, or partially discovered, not to make 

 known the cjitirc meaning to a person ignorant of a particular 

 secret connected with it, which may be readily understood and 

 remembered, but which could scarcely be guessed. This may 

 be useful in case it should be necessary to commence a secret 

 correspondence with a person abroad, to whom there is no op- 

 portunity of safely sending a copious syllabic key ; for, if this 



