PREFACE. XXXI 



mented cross ; this occurs but once. At fol, 94 a., chapter 

 xli., the mark I. is three times repeated III. The 

 marginal bimitce, fol. 108 b,, means that the scribe was 

 gettingf his task done : he was not aware of the ad- 

 ditional book III. If these signs refer to native treatises, 

 unknown to us, and now irrecoverable, they go to illus- 

 trate the existence of an English school of teaching 

 medicines ; as do the expressions " as leeches ken," not 

 of rare occurrence. 



Besides these marks and signs as given above, we More cypher, 



find at fol. 30 b. by the end of the sentence, bo plytan 



ro, etc., in chapter xxxiv., some writing in cypher, 

 thus : — 



and again at fol. 89 b., chapter xxxiv., thus : — 



■l.fM pJMIf'- 



! /- 

 I 



The key to writing of this sort has never been pub- 

 lished, and now for those who are skilled in such 

 matters an account of it shall be given, 



The letters were divided into groups, and these, of The^iaw of this 

 course, were at the discretion of every man severally, 

 as regarded their number and how many letters they 

 miglit contain. The groups, first, second, third, and so 

 on were commonly denoted by dots ; the upstrokes 

 shewed by their number what place in the group each 

 letter held. Thus, to spell Oxa, if the first gi-oup 

 began at A, and contained six letters, then the second 

 would begin at H, and if it contained eight letters, 

 omitting J as not ancient, then the third gToup would 

 begin at Q, and might go on, combining U and V, to 

 the end ; so that Oxa would be thus spelt : — 



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