The Portland daily press., 1879-12-05
Secret Writing.
The Ingenious use of Language to Con-
ceal Thought.
From Lipplncott's Magazine

LFrOm I4lppluCOltS >
The first use of language was the expression
of mems thoughts; the first use of writing was
the perpetuation of events, which subsequent
ly merged into the perpetuation and transmits
sion of ideas and language. 1t was with ad-
vancing civilization that language came to be
regarded as a means of concealing thought, and
that certain methods of writing were devised
for the concealment of transmitted ideas. The
ancients occasionally used a slave as both writ
ing material and courier. They shaved his
head. wrote the message upon his scalp, kept
him until his hair grew again, and then sent
him off to his destination. The method has
merits worth considering. The Indian might
thus be utilized. There are, moreover-and
Mr.. Mast is here an authority-humble but
rampant members of political organizations
among whose bristles a message would be as
safe from observation as if written upon a tree
top in jungle. Intelligence might thus be
conveyed upon skull too thick for it to pene-
trate, and under circumstances not very rare
the absolute guarantee against penetration af-
forded by the medium would be recognized as
its greatest merit. Its objections are OBVIOUS.
The chief point to be considered in a competi-
tive examination for the post of courier would
be the speedy growth of hair, and the test
would necessarily be tedious for the examining
board. Then, again, when State is trembling
in the political balance, and wire-pullers are
anxiously awaiting information as to the dis
posal of the ''sinews of politics, it would be,
to say the least dangerous to the seizing of
golden opportunity to call in the barber, force
the growth of the hirsute bush, dispatch the
bristling Mercury, and then literally read his
bumps with the aid of second barber The
DEFICIENCIES of all'the previous systems were, IN
a measure met by the invention of that known
as chiffe which consisted simply of the SUBJ
stitution of one letter of the alphabet for anoth-
er or the representation of them by signs 1t
was, however, too transparent for all the pur
poses of diplomacy, and recourse was subse-
quently had to chiffe Qudrre or shidre tnde-
chifrdble. Here the letters of the alphabet or
signs are tabulated, and word given as key.
The latter may be changed from time to time,
and decipherer must equip himself with pa
tience and perseverance before he can solve
the riddle of letters. By changes of the key
and frequent notifications of the system, it
has recently been seen by newspaper readers
of the United States that limited measure of
safety from detection may be secured. But,
as in England, the competition between armor-
plates and guns invariably results ultimately
in favor of the latter, so in America the cryp-
biographical armor of politicians has been rid
died by the ordnance OF the New YORK IT'D.
une. The Interpretation by the indefatigable
experts of that Journal of long series of in
tricate cphers forms one of the most curious
chapters in the history of cryptography 10
Americans it is of far more immediate interest
than the history of the Rosetta stone. and the
result must be either change of system or the
avoidance of the necessity for resorting to con-
cealment. OF the political results of the Trib.
unes revelations, or of its reduction Of some OF
its opponents to ciphers, nothing need be said;
but in seeking a political end, it has also made
a valuable contribution to the difficult science
of deciphering. 1t might possibly be well for
politicians hereafter to revert, as far as they
can, to something like the ancient symbolical
language. 1t has the advantage. as exempli-
fed in the oraces Of Delphi, OF being interpret
able in two ways. If the fact initiates against
the usefulness of such language, it adds to its
safety. Let me close with a suggestive phrase
used by Pythagoras, and quoted here as an ex-
ample of symbolical language: When, he
said, ''the storm is raging, worship the echo"
He undoubtedly means that it is well, when
civil strife runs high or party warfare becomes
too hot, to retire into solitude.