The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1867-05-10

"Wc have, therefore, no less than ten
of the most important letters represent
ed, and it will be unnecessary to pro-
ceed with the details of the solution. |
have said enough to convince you that
ciphers of this nature are readily solu-
bic, and to give you some insight into
the rationale of their development.
But be assured that the specimen before
us appcrtains to the very simplest spe-
cies of cryptograph. 1t now remains to
give you the full translation of the
characters upon the parchment, as un-
riddlcd. Here it is:
"'A good glass in the bishops hostel
in the DEVILS seat forty-one degrees and
thirteen minutes northeast and by the
north main branch seventh limb east
side shoot from the left eye Of the
deaths head bee line through the shot
fifty feet out.
"But," said |, "the enigma seems
still in rs bad condition as ever. How
is it possible to eXtort meaning from
all this .jargOn about 'devil's seats
'doath's-heads,' and bishops hotels p"
81 confess" replied Legrand, "that
the matter still wears a serious aspect,
when regarded with casual glance.
My first cndcavOr was to divide the
sentence into the natural division in
tended by the cryptographist."
"Nou mean, to punctuatc it?"
"Something of that kind"
"But how was it possible to effect
this?"
81 reflected that it had been a point
with the writer to run his words tOgeth-
or without division, so as to increase
the difficulty of solution, Now, not
Over-acutc man, i'll pursuing such an
object, would be nearly certain to over
do the matter. When, in the course Of
his composition, he arrived Mt break
in his subject which would naturally
require pause, or Il point, he would be
exceedingly apt to run his characters, mt
this place, more than usually close to-
gcthCr. If you would observe the MS,
in the present instance, you will easily
detect five such cases of unusual crowd
ing. Acting upon this hint, made the
| division thus:
"'A good glass in the Bishops hostel
| i'm the Devils scat-fOrty-one degrees
and thirteen minuteS-nOrtheast and by
| nOrth-main branch seventh limb east
side-,hoot from the left eye of the
| Deaths s-hccd-a bec-Iine from the tree
| through the shot fifty feet out"
Gwen thi, DIVISION" said |, "leaves
me still in the dark"
sit left me also in the dark" replied
| Lcgrand, "for a few days; during
which | made dilligent inquiry, in the
neighborhood Of SulliVan's Island, fol
any building which went by the name
of the Bishops lIOtel;' for, Of course
| dropped the obsolete word hostel.
Gaining no information on the subject
| was ON the point of extending my
sphere of search, and proceeding in {
more systematic manner, when, one
morning. it entered into my head, quite
suddenly, that this 'Bishop's-HOstel
might have some reference to an ole
family, of the name of Bessop, which
time out of mind, had held possession
of an ancient munOr-hOusc, about foul
miles n0rthWard to the Island. ! ac
Icordingly went over to the plantation
and re-instituted my inquiries among
Ithe older negroes Of the place. a
length one of the most aged Of the Wo
men said that she had heard of such I
place as BeSSOp'S CuStie, and though
that She could guide me to it, but tha
was not Il castle, nor tavern, but
high rock.
,, II offered to pay her well for he
. trouble, and, after some demur, sh
consented to accompany me to the spot
We found it without much difficulty
- when, dismissing her, | proceeded +
examine the place. The castle con
sisted of an Irregular assemblage 0
cliffs and roclis-one of the latter bein!
: quite remarkable for its height as wei
! as for it, insulated aud artificial appear
$ ance. clambered to its apex, and the
felt much at Il loss rs to what should b
- next done.
"Whilc | was busted in reflection, m
1 eyes fell upon Il narrow ledge in tn
o eastern face of the rock, perhaps var
+ below the summit ON which | stooc
i This ledge projected about eightee
inches. and was not more than foe
wide, while niche in the cliff ju,
above it, gave it rude resemblance
one Of the hollow-backed chairs use
by our ancestors. | made no doul
5 that here was the 'devil's-seat' allude
y TO in the MS, and now seemed
d. Grasp the full secret of the riddle.
"The good glass knew, could hay
-. Hmm httt a. taInEnAnn. Il