Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-06-13
AN vNDEc1pHERADLE CIPHER.
An Interesting Study of Modern and
Ancient CFypt0grams.

| An Interesting Study of Modern and
Ancient CryptOgrams.
From the Illustrated London News.
1t is curious that the cipher kilograms
! the key of which is alleged to have been
found in DR.. Jameson's travelling bag
| should have been of so simple character.
Considering their great importance and
that the senders had an unlimited COM
| mand of money, one would think their
meaning might have been better concealed
On the other hand it is possible that in
South Africa there are no professors of the
| cryptic art. In ordinary cases, as that
| great authority on such matters Mr. Bah
| bage remarks, 1t is of more consequence
| to have a cipher that can be quickly writ
| ten and quickly read by the person ad-
dressed than one that is very difficult to in
terpret, but this cannot apply to state and
still less to anti-state documents. These
should be of a character to puzzle the most
intelligent scrutineers-let alone a Boer-
for heightened period. The art of de-
ciphering resembles that of picking locks,
and the only question is what time each re-
quires." Mr.. Hobbs during the exhibition
of 1851 picked Bramah's challenge lock in
hfty-siX hours, but the performers during
certain robbery of a bank in Scotland
spent three months in passing through
three locks. cryptogram in Paris deci-
phered for the government took six months
in the operation. If the same pains had
been expended in framing the Johannes
burg messages those who sent them would
not now-or perhaps ever-have been in SO
regrettabe a position. No sagacity seems
to have been employed in their compost
tlon. Since a cryptogram was employed
what necessity was there for that feeble
attempt at deception, the use of the term
'fotation?" And surely it would only have
been a matter of the commonest prudence
| to destroy the code when the least danger
| arose of its falling into hostile hands
A history of ciphers. If such could be
complied, would be most interesting, there
are few things more attractive to the hu-
man mind, is proved by the immense
popularity of the gold beetle Tor bug,
the American edition terms it,, though it is
true it was enhanced by the glamor OF
buried treasure. one of the earliest
methods of secret writing (made use of, /
think. by Mr.. Andrew Lang. in one of his
humorous Stories) was 10 shave the head
of the messenger ana inscribe on ii The oc
sired information, but this took some iirns
Tor It's revelation, since the hair, of course,
had to be restored in order TO conceal IL.
and before he was ready for the operations
OF the second barber. There would have
been the chance lin the absence of Roent-
gems rays for one of the numerous recipes
for the growth of hair 10 obtain splendid
advertisement. The skytale of the Spar
tarS. which caused the message il con-
veyed TO consist merely of broken letters
until it was wound upon an exactly SINH
lar stat in the possession of the cores
pendent, was most ingenious device.
Cryptic writing was of later date, but it is
Understood that the prophet jeremiah
xxv:26), Ito conceal his prediction from
all but the uninitiated, writes, 'Sheshach'
Instead of Babylon. that is, instead of us
ing the second and twelfth Letters of the
Hebrew alphabet, he uses the second and
twelfth from the end If the cphers OF
Charles /, that fell into the hands Of the
rouldheadS after NaScby, and which DIR.
John Wallis, the mathematician. was en-
ployed TO elucidate. had been less simple.
it is possible he might have kept his head
on his shoulders The Jacobites, who it
must be confessed. were not remarkable
for intelligence, often came TO grief through
using sympa thetic ink, a very childish and
transparent form OF cryptogram. Perhaps
the most unfortunate of cpherers was poor
Pepys, whose domestic peccadilos. hidden
as he fondly imagined from prying eyes.
have become public property.
AS ciphers grew more difficult, experts
who undertook their Interpretation became
more skllful. Walsh in his Handy Book
OF Literary Curiosities.' tells us that a
notable instance of this took place in the
United States i'll 1876 Cipher messages
transmitted by Mr. Tilden's agents to the dis
puted states of oregon fell into the hands
OF the New York Tribune Mr. Hassard
set himself to master the problem. and dis
covered that the messages contained over
lures of bribery and corruption. The
Tribune published the explanation, ana
though the messages could not be traced
directly to Mr.. Tildep. but only to his
nephew, the result was to reduce Mr. Til
a
enter into cryDtograms is obvious to those
who have read Mr.. Donnelly's attempt TO
identify Bacon with Shakespeare. What
puts him out of court. to begin with is
the fact that Shakespeare got the money
for his plays, which are quite certain
from what we know of Bacon. he would
never have suffered Shakespeare to get
(nor the half of it, if they had been his
own composition.
The only thoroughly undecipherable eli
pher is also the simplest 1t consists Of
two duplicate books-any books: one in the
hands of the transmitter of the cipher
and ore in those of the recipient. The first
letter in the first page is taken for "a
the first letter in the second for b." and
SO on till the end of the message is reached:
suppose it to consist of twenty-four words
twenty-four pages of the book will thus
have been used: for the next message the
first letter Of the twenty-iifth page will be
used for "a the first letter in the twenty
sixth for 3D., and so on. Even the posses
sion of enc of these books would not help
the would-be deciphcrer. unless he sus-
pected some virtue in it, but without the
book the cipher would remain absolutely
inscrutable.
kEI.p NLN EnnHu