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    THE GREAT CRYPTOGRAM.*

• Transcript

  • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

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    • O* Royal Literary Fund.—The 99th Anniv...

    circulation from the home depot , including bookstractsperiodicals ¦ counted in numbers

    cards p ^ pr ^^ " ^ ^^ " ^ ^^^—^ - ^— ¦ , ^ h and ^ p ^ ^^^ r ^^ ' ^¦^ ^ pp" *^^ » miscellaneous - ^^ , - ^ g ^ T ^^ ^^^ ™ ~™~ ~— ~— ^^— ™ ^—^ ^ —~^ — ~— , ^ -m ^ issues ~ ~— had reached — — , ^ p ; 61 tfl . 061 061 , . 050 050 . of of which which 544 24 . 590 590 . 600 600 , were were tracts tracts ..

    The , issues ,, from foreign , depots , were stat ed at 15000000 making a total circulation of

    76 ^ p ^^ p- ^^ r 061 v ^^^^ v ""^ " - ^ , " ^ m * p ^^ 050 ~^^ r ^^ p ^ , ^ h ^^^ *^» r *¦ and ^ , ^ H ^ " ^ ^^~^^~ *™~ of *™~ " ~ ~~^ ~~ 2 ^^ H ^ ph 602 ~~ ~~ ~~ 390 ^ — 390 since — " — — ^ — the formation ,, of , the Society , . , The , total amount

    received from sales , missionary receipts , and all other sourcesincluding last year ' s balance

    P ^^ p ^ pp ^ P ^^ H ^^^ *^» r " ^ ^^^ ^ p ^ p * ^^^ B p ^^ p * ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^™ ^^^ ^^^ ^^ " ^ , PB ^^^ ^^ " ^^ " ^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^ ™ ¦ ^ " i - ^^ ¦¦ ^^ pi ^ pB ¦ ~~ — " ~ ^ ^^^ ^ ~~ ^— — ~~ - ~~ ~ " ~ — ^ — — ( £ 1 , 817 . 15 s . 5 c * . ) , was £ 211 , 108 . As . lOd . The total expenditure in both trade and

    grant departments ( including the investment of a portion of the legacies ) had been 208662 . 16 s . 10 d . leaving a balance' in

    favour ^ , of the Society , of £ 2 , 445 . 8 s . The total _ — amount — received _ from subscriptions x and

    other contributions , part payment for grants , dividendsand ! balance of legacies "' was

    £ 29 , 168 . 8 , s . 5 cZ ., the whole of this sum , being available for the missionary objects of the

    Society . The missionary expenditure had

    amounted to £ 41 , 708 . 7 s . 3 d .

    P ¦ : --- ~ -- .- ¦ . - .. •• . -Qp V 50...

    p ¦ : --- ~ -- .- ¦ . - .. •• . -qp v 504 The Publishers' Circular May 15 * i $ &

    The Great Cryptogram.*

    THE GREAT CRYPTOGRAM . *

    ' My name and memory I leave to foreign nationsand to mine own country after some

    , time is passed over . ' This prop — h - etic - - sentence has received new

    X j- and extraordinary interest through the publication — _ — of Mr — _ . _ Donnelly ^ ' s remarkable _ book .

    In these busy days we rarely come across examples of research ____ so painstaking ^ j and _ _ we

    — ^ ^ _ , fear , thankless . Whether the ' Cryptogram ' be accepted or not , it is evident that the

    unbelieving critics have heretofore been too hasty ^ in expressing — — -j ^~ g—j their views of Mr .

    - ~ ~ Donnelly ' s work . The author should lecture the country . By that means his discoveries

    might be more lucidly explained , while more interest would be aroused respecting his labours .

    It should be remembered that cryptography has in modern days gone entirely out of

    fashion . The ' agony' column of newspapers affords — - about — - — — ___ the _ onl ^ y modern examp ^ - le of ~ the

    art , and the hidden meanings of such communications are sometimes very easily

    interpreted . Excepting for the purposes of detection ¦¦ the artas practised three centuries

    ^^^ - ^^ T ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^» ^^^ " ^» ^^ " , ^ V ^^^ ^^ ^^ W ^^^^ ^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^ , ^ M ^^ ™^ " ^^^ j ™ ^^^» ™ - ^ ~^— ¦ ¦ *—^^ = v ^^~ ¦ ¦ ^^^ ^ ^^ - ^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^ m ^ r ^ ^^ r - ^ r - ^ ^^^ ^^^ - ^^ r ~ m ago , is lost . In Bacon ' s time it was considered so important as a distinct art , that he classed

    it as a part of grammar , giving it the name 'Cip hers . ' Bacon was very enthusiastic upon A

    the subject , speaking of wheel ci phers , key cip hers 17 , word . ci 1 phers . , 7 and so forth . It is

    recorded that a cipher ( which Mr . Donnelly has duly noticed ) , upon which he prided himself greatly was one in which a and 6 are

    made to do duty for the whole alphabet . / " Stay till I come to you" printed partly in

    roman and partly in italic , characters : this * intermixture <¦«• - * ^ ir «¦• •• -- >•• « v a-M «» ^>^> ^ fe > ^_^ of ^ - ^ ¦» " type _ J F "^ ^ " ^ suggests ^^ ^^ I *^ % F ^ ^^ ^ " ^ - _ r > -iH the -- *¦ ¦¦* ¦ -- ^ formation ask -ir «•• «<¦>< - vw > -w «¦ ^^ - « K _ -i of -k-r ^ HB 1 _ B « t _ ^ H- HK ^ Hi H * ^ ^ HK H . fl ^ flfe ^ » -u > > ^ ^

    the three gibberish words , '' aabafo , " " ababa , " " babba ; " and these suggest the plain English

    called * 7 8 % htt « Great % ¦* spiare Cryptogram Plays . Bv : Francis Ignatius Bacon Donnelly ' s Ciph . er in the so-M 7 % ,.. ! . •'

    t ¦ ¦ - ~ word "Fly , " which is . the object of the message »« b ^ m «^ IVnr ^ VMk ^^ . ¦» ' ¦ We » ^^ ^ have —¦ m ^ . ^* -- ' — ¦>^ v ¦ quoted H — - — ' — — the — ' — foregoing " ^^^ p ^ ^^ m from — ¦

    an old magazine , and from a similar source we ill give ustrate a definition the extent of of cryptograp its Jl ingenious luevuiv hy , which raniifica uvi will

    -XXX U < 3 OJ . Cu I / O VXl . \ s CAVvllV V . VKJ uu xwu *«« - tions . It includes the k transposition of letters the change joI this transposition itself

    with every ; line ; the use of numerals for letters ; the combination of lettersnumeral

    ^^ b ^ B ^ ^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^ V ^^ P ^ M ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^ " ^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^>^^ v ^^ " - ^^ - ^ p - ^ ^^ " ^ - — — , — — — and printing characters ; the invention of new characters - ^^ F ^^^ fV ^^ ^ V ^ P ^^ ^ 0 ^ N ^ ^^ •^^ ; the ^^ ^^^^ ^ B ^ adop ^¦^ ' ^^ ^ ^^ W *^ tion ^ ^^ ^^ — —^^ of lines — , dashes , or

    dots ; the insertion of significant words in the midst of nonsense ; the use of significant words

    in a long and otherwise useless sentence of good Englishetc' This familiar explanation

    will show some , readers the difficulties that lie in the way of disputation with Mr . Donnelly

    from the scientific side of the question . Mention should be made of the fact that among

    tlie great cryptographers of the past , besides Bacon , were the famous Marquis of Worcester ,

    Dr . Wallis , Bishop Wilkins , Thicknesse , Falconer vivors of , the Blair cryptograp , and others h are . the Common anagram sur and

    other crotchety verbal devices which Addison so ingeniously and humorously described and

    rebuked . As an instance of ingenuity , Addisonit will be rememberedcites the case

    of Tryphiodorus , , who composed , an Odyssey or ^ h ^ ^^ ep ^ k ^ W *^ ^ ic ^^ poem m ^^ ^^ ^—^^^^ on ^ t ^ ^^^^^ ' the ^ ^^ - ^— - ^^ adventures — ' —^ — — ' — ' — — of Ulysses ^^ ,

    consisting of twenty books , having entirely ban « 4 * d » i » shed the i letter » i A from his first book W ^^ ^*^ ^^ ^^ ^ I ^ V ^^ ^»*^ ^^^ ^ ^^ «* «^ ^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^ " ^ — — — ^ — ,

    whichon the liiciis a non lucendo principle , was called , Alpha . There are many similar

    instances of painstaking and seemingly misrecords ^ app ^ ^^ ^^ ^^ lied 4 ^ » - ^ r ^ f of ^^ ingenuity ^^ the ^^^»«« ^^ ^ remote v « ^^ ^^ b ^ - ^^ to ^^ ^«^ past » Be ** k ¦ ¦ i - ^ , gathered v so - - — - ^* - that - ~ — ^— — -- — — surprise fro j— m the at

    new disclosures must be qualified by thoughts such as those expressed in that forgotten book , Watts bup ' * Log ¦¦ ick' : * Those speakers whose

    w w ^ . mr ^ # ^* ¦« ¦ > - * ka ^ ^ ^^ ^^ - ^ ^^ " ^ ¦ ^ ^^ ~ " *^ ^^ " ^^ r ^ ^^ —^— — — - -- - — — chief business is to amuse or delight , to allure , terrifyor persuade mankind 1 do not confine

    themselves ^¦^ —ii ~ ^ M ^ K ^ ^ IV ^^^ w ¦ , H ~ i ~ ^^ p to ^»^ a ^^ . ^ r . ^ any ^^ t ^^ p- ^ p' ^ ip »^ p » ^ kpp natural ^ pp ^^^^ ^^^ ^^ " ^^ —— —rr ^ order — , —• m , - ~ - — but - ~ in a cryptical _ i / JL or hidden — method adapX . t everything % r «—*

    to their designed ends . ' So much for the cryptographic side of the question b which ¦ " ¦¦ r we think ¦ sufficientl ¦ y interest ¦ ¦ ¦ -

    ¦ - ^ ji ^^ " ^» - ^^ i ^ fco ^ p' ^^ - ** ^^ deserve mm , ^^^^~^^ ^^ p » ^™ ^^ stud » » ¦ y . The -- — — ' — interest - ^ " - — ' — ""^ ^^ may — — — be curiousbut can hardly be characterised as

    unprofitable , . The name of Shakespeare , however , must survive . It has been so long«—'

    associated with the soul of our national life that it cannot be obliterated . Englishmen have P « P *^ q ^ a J proud irf affection h Vh ^ H HV for - * w the name which

    ¦ » ^ V W . 1 ^ V * p * « .. ^^ ^ . * ^^^ m ^«^ P ^ BpT ' ^^ ^^ ^^ * " ^ ^ m ^^ " ^ "" ^— ' ^ . ^ — ^™ — ' — ' — - ^^^ - ^ p * w w — - — — cannot be reasoned away . Mr . Donnelly ' s ciher disclosuresingenious though they are

    cannot p accomplish , the object he aims at , ; and it is even possible that the world will be

    indifferent to the subject so long as the plays themselves remain .

    Five years have elapsed since Mr . Donnelly first announced his discovery , the earlier pages of his declarations appearing then in the North

    American Review . A good deal of unreasonable - ^ -- ^ > - ^ v ^^ - ^» antici ^ v ^ p > pi . PV ^ p > ^ w - ^^ ^^ m pation »^^ h pj ^ . p ph ^»^ ^ pi ^ pb was pp w ^ p ^^ i ¦ then p » ^^ ^^ ^ p ^ ^^^^ indul ^^^^^^^ ^^ p ^ b ^ p' ^ — ged p ^ H . ^^ ^^ ra ^ ^ in ^^ p ^— ^— ; ^ p ; it

    was even prophesied that the book would never . appear . Heralded in notices which

    few 4 The ¦ ¦ ¦ ^ " ^ - ^^ books Great - * - ww hpp * -p ^ p- ^^^ r ^^ have Cryptogram ¦¦ - ^^ m ^ h p *^ had ^^ r BVVk ™* ^ " ^ P ^ ¦¦• " the ^ ' . ^ ha fortune pi pv v s i h at ^ v ^ pp- ^ p- leng piph p «^ « to ^ ^^ F' ^ th ^^ obtain ^^ been ^^ ^^ — ,

    published , and it must be , confessed that no more curious work relating to Shakespeariana

• Citation
  • Publishers’ Circular (1880-1890), May 15, 1888, page 504, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/pc/issues/tec_15051888/page/6/