70 



good policy to sacrifice a whole kingdom to their particular 

 profit. 



" A great many other things are said w^ are not fit for 

 me to write, I only mention w* I find universally insisted 

 on . I do not expect to do myself any service by freedom, I wish 

 it may serve his Majestie's interest and the public, as it is I 

 am sure intended, w*ever happen to 



"Your 

 " Edward Hopkins Esq." 



February 14th, 1848. 



Rev. HUMPHREY LLOYD, D. D., President, 

 in the Chair. 

 The Very Rev. J. J. Taylor, D. D.; Rev. Matthew Newport, 

 D. D.; Frederick V.Clarendon, Charles Ottley, O'Neale 

 Segrave, Matthew E. Talbot, and Charles Tarrant, Esqrs., 

 were elected members of the Academy. 



The Rev. Charles Graves read a paper on a general me- 

 thod of deciphering secret alphabetic writings. 



Mr. Graves commenced by stating that he had been led 

 to discuss the general question of deciphering, in consequence 

 of his having undertaken, some time ago, an examination of 

 the singular inscriptions in the Ogham character which are 

 to be found in this country. Irish scholars and antiquaries, 

 to whose opinions great deference is due, having pronounced 

 that no satisfactory readings of these inscriptions had been 

 obtained by means of the key given in the Book of Ballymote 

 and other Irish manuscripts professing to treat of the Ogham 

 character, Mr. Graves abandoned the attempt to draw from 

 these sources the means of deciphering it, and applied himself 

 to the task of constructing a key from the monuments them- 



