The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-04-12

q
IN places the leaves were worn through by
constant thumbing, aud transparent paper had
been pasted on to hold the text together. The
decipherer bears the look of a student The
smooth face is full in the forehead, the eyes are
blue and keen, and mark man of strong will
and the high courage to undertake cause or a
problem that challenges his sympathy or his in
tellect though the whole world laugh and sheer.
*x
"BIr. Donnelly," said, IL have come 20 ask
you what made you think there was a cipher in
Shakespeare"
swell, the short story of it is this: I havo
for several years been Baconian, and so have
had more than an ordinary interest in the plays
Some one gave one of my "A Boys Own
Book, work on sports. arts and amusements.
In that book one day noticed chapter on
ciphers. and the statement that Francis Bacon
was an adapt in the use of them. 1t occurred to
me at once that he might have put cipher
rative in the so-called Shakspearean plays /
took down my Bacon and read in his DE Aug
mentis' what he had to say about ciphers. 1
found him full OF knowledge on the subject l
found that he preferred cipher of words, and
laid down the rule that the writing infolded
should bear an quintuple relation to the writing
Unfolding omnia per omnia. I then began to
read the plays to find evidences of cipher.
II had no concordance, or my task would have
been easier 1t was failure anyway, so far as
the cipher was concerned l found significant
words in significant positions, beyond that moth
ing. turned to the folio of 1923 which Rich
ard Grant White said, as long ago as 1851, when
s Payne Golfers discoveries in Shakspearean text
raised quite furore--Grant White said that
the edition Of 1923 was the only resource we
have for an authoritative study Of the plays.
Mark what found
"I~ Irregular paging
s'2. Arbitrary italiciZing
''3. Meaningless bracketing.
II Senseless hypnenation.
THAT folio was printed by Shakspeare's
friends, and must have cost in those times as
much as s., 600. 1t was sold for one pound,
which was worth five pounds now, or $25.
Printers are peculiarly careful in paging work
they do. Authors give no attention to it, and
the printer is responsible for it. Yet the edition
of 1923 is most irregularly PACED. For instance.
the second part of Henry the Fourth ends on
page 100; Henry the Fifth follows on tine next
page, and that is page 60. Henry the Eighth
ends on page 232; Trolus and Cressida follows.
and the page number is II. The latter play is
PACED on to page 80, and there the paging ceases,
''Italcs are used very queery in this edition
On page Sc of the first Henry the Fourth the
word Francis occurs sixteen times in Roman
letters and five times in italics. So it is
throughout the book; italics are seldom used
for emphasis and are often employed where no
reason appears for it.
'sIn the same way hyphens are used without
rhyme or reason. Here's an instance-n first
Henry the Fourth, act first, scene second, Gads-
hill says:
az am icned with no foot andrakers no lonc-staf.
Six-peE:sy strikers of these mad mustaehio-
purple ed-malt-worns but with mobility and
tranquility.
$50 in second Henry the Fourth, at the end OF
the induction:
s''-From rumors' tongues
They bring smcoth-comfortsfalse, worse than true
On pages "a and IS of this play occur twenty
four hyphens; on pages 70 and 70 are five. For
none Of them is there sound reason in the
necessities Of the text
.ITho bracketed words in Shakespeare have
been stumbling STONE 10 students from the
start They are left out Of our modern editions
so clearly had they nothing TO DO with the
meaning of the lines. See here, on pages "A and
70 Of second Henry the Fourth there are eighty
bracketed words, on pages Y and 10 there are
but three, and on pages 20 and II there is bu
one The reason for this found to be that the
writsr Of the cipher was reaching the end of the
clay, and was put to il to make his cipher coun,
come put right
"What was more natural than for me to thinl
that all this had something TO do with the ciphe,