The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1879-04-30
NUMBER Is.


a half sheet exactly the size Of the pa
per on which Elinor Beaumont's letters
were written, in which oblong holes AT
| intervals had been cut.
| He then placed this half sheet over
| the letter, and handed both, thus placed
| TO nv uncle. whose astonished ewes read
the following words, which the holes left
visible:
Fleet wind-bound Fifty sails of
the line, twenty-five smaller. Should
the wind change expect us ON Friday"
: The devil = said my uncle; and
/ Nelson ordered off TO the West Indies. 3"
Then there was, as YOU may suppose.
hurrying and scurrying, and running and
chasing, and despatching Of government
couriers, and somaphore telegraphs. and
carrier-pigeons, and all the Old World
means Of communication then in fashion.
The key thus obtained, disclosed the
whole correspondence, which turned out
to be a connected series of letters from
the French government, smuggled into
Jersey. The result history knows the
intended invasion was abandoned, and
Napoleon went elsewhere.
But what put you on the scent ,"
asked my uncle afterward, with many
apologies to the expert
= | suspected the trick from the first.
although il was very good specimen
of ii. The letters were too innocent
and had too little point in them. But
they were done with admirable skill
The grammar was complete, and the
little dots or marks which burglars use
To guide them in writing the words which
are to be read were entirely absent.
The way in which the deception is effect
ed is this The correspondent before
commencing takes piece of paper and
cuts holes in it, which, Of course, in the
two half sheets, exactly correspond.
They each take one sheet, and, when
Il letter is to be written, the writer SO
arranged the words that those intended
to be read shall appear in the holes
when the half sheet Is placed over the
paper, which is the same size. When
the correspondent receives the letter,
he places his half sheet over it, and
reads off the whole words as YOU did
The difficulty, which was so well con
quered in the case, is to make the sense
run fuently, and to prevent any visible
breaking in the writing. Without the
half sheet with the holes in it no one
can have the slightest clew to the real
meaning.
=" My suspicious, once aroused, were
confirmed by the inquiries which | made
The whole story about the sister was
fabrication. The letters did come from
Jersey, the answer went to Fleet Street
to the charge of very notorious foreign
agents But if our friend had not been
fool enough to leave his half sheet in
the desk we might have grouped in vain
for the mystery,
Beaumont disappeared that night and
was never heard of again at the admi- !
rally. 1t transpired afterward that
some accomplice had warned him Of the !
experts visit to the admiralty and his |
inquiries in Jersey. He made an at
tempt to get admission to his room but |
was scared by the sounds he heard, and |
contrived to escape to France. The lady |
who acted the sister, and who visited |
the admiralty, partly to put the authori-
ties off their guard, and probably to ex-
change the key for the cipher, was a
Partisan celebrity who before and after
wards, was renowned foF her daring in
political intrigue,