Complete Essays, Literary Criticism, Cryptography, Autography, Translations & Letters. Эдгар Аллан По
you should think it worth your while, you can exercise your ingenuity.
I am yours, respectfully,
S. D. L.
No. 1.
Cauhiif aud frd sdftirf ithot tacd wdde rdchfdr tiu fuacfshffheo fdoudf hetmsafhie tuis ied herhchriai fi aeiftdu wn sdaef it iuhfheo hiidohwid wn aen deodsf ths tiu itis hf iaf iuhoheaiin rdff hedr; aer ftd auf it ftif fdoudfin oissiehoafheo hefdiihodeod taf wdde odeduaiin fdusdr ounsfiouastn. Saen fsdohdf it fdoudf ihufheo idud weiie fi ftd aeohdeff; fisdfhsdf, A fiacdf tdar ief ftacdr aer ftd ouiie iuhff de isie ihft fisd herd hwid oiiiuheo tiihr, atfdu ithot tahu wdheo sdushffdr fi ouii aoahe, hetiusafhie oiiir wd fuaefshffdr ihft ihffid raeoeu ft af rhfoicdun iiiir hefid iefhi ftd aswiiafiun dshffid fatdin udaotdr hff rdffheafhil. Ounsfiouastn tiidcdu siud suisduin dswuaodf ftifd sirdf it iuhfheo ithot aud uderdudr idohwid iein wn sdaef it fied desiaeafiun wdn ithot sawdf weiie ftd udai fhoehthoafhie it ftd onstduf dssiindr fi hff siffdffiu.
No. 2.
Ofoiioiiaso ortsiii sov eodisoioe afduiostifoi ft iftvi si tri oistoiv oiniafetsorit ifeov rsri inotiiiiv ridiiot, irio rivvio eovit atrotfetsoria aioriti iitri tf oitovin tri aetifei ioreitit sov usttoi oioittstifo dfti afdooitior trso ifeov tri dfit otftfeov softriedi ft oistoiv oriofiforiti suitteii viireiiitifoi ft tri iarfoisiti, iiti trir net otiiiotiv uitfti rid io tri eoviieeiiiv rfasueostr tf rii dftrit tfoeei.
In the solution of the first of these ciphers we had little more than ordinary trouble. The second proved to be exceedingly difficult, and it was only by calling every faculty into play that we could read it at all. The first runs thus.
“Various are the methods which have been devised for transmitting secret information from one individual to another, by means of writing, illegible to any except him for whom it was originally designed; and the art of thus secretly communicating intelligence has been generally termed cryptography. Many species of secret writing were known to the ancients. Sometimes a slave’s head was shaved, and the crown written upon with some indelible coloring fluid; after which the hair being permitted to grow again, information could be transmitted with little danger that discovery would ensue until the ambulatory epistle safely reached its destination. Cryptography, however, pure, properly embraces those modes of writing which are rendered legible only by means of some explanatory key which makes known the real signification of the ciphers employed to its possessor.”
The key-phrase of this cryptograph is — “A word to the wise is sufficient.”
The second is thus translated —
“Nonsensical phrases and unmeaning combinations of words, as the learned lexicographer would have confessed himself, when hidden under cryptographic ciphers, serve to perpdex the curious enquirer, and baffle penetration more completely than would the most profound apothems of learned philosophers. Abstruse disquisitions of the scholiasts, were they but presented before him in the undisguised vocabulary of his mother tongue ——”
The last sentence here (as will be seen) is broken off short. The spelling we have strictly adhered to. D, by mistake, has been put for l in perplex.
The key-phrase is — “Suaviter in modo, fortiter in re.”
In the ordinary cryptograph, as will be seen in reference to most of those we have specified above, the artificial alphabet agreed upon by the correspondents, is employed, letter for letter, in place of the usual or natural one. For example: — two parties wish to communicate secretly. It is arranged before parting that
) shall stand for a
( ———— “ b
— ———— “ c
* ———— “ d
. ———— “ e
’ ———— “ f
; ———— “ g
: ———— “ h
? ———— “ i or j
! ———— “ k
& ———— “ l
0 ———— “ m
‘ ———— “ n
† ———— “ o
‡ ———— “ p
¶ ———— “ q
☞ ———— “ r
] ———— “ s
[ ———— “ t
£ shall stand for u or v
$ ———— “ w
¿ ———— “ x
¡ ———— “ y
☜ ———— “ z
Now the following note is to be communicated —
“We must see you immediately upon a matter of great importance. Plots have been discovered, and the conspirators are in our hands. Hasten!”
These words would be written thus —
$ 0 . £ ] [ ] . . ¡ † £ ¿ 0 0 . * ¿ ) [ . & ¡ £ ‡ † ‘ ) 0 ) [ [ . ☞ † ’; ☞ . ) [ ? 0 ‡ † ☞ [ ) ‘ — . ‡ & † [ ] : ) £ . ( . . ‘ * . ] — † £ . ☞ . * ) ‘ * — † ‘ ] ‡ ? ☞ ) [ † ☞ ] ) ☞ ? ? ‘ † £ ☞ : ) ‘ * ] : ) ] [ . ‘
This certainly has an intricate appearance, and would prove a most difficult cipher to any one not conversant with cryptography. But it will be observed that a, for example, is never represented by any other character than ), b never by any other character than (, and so on. Thus by the discovery, accidental or otherwise, of any one letter, the party intercepting the epistle would gain a permanent and decided advantage and could apply his knowledge to all the instances in which the character in question was employed throughout the cipher.
In the cryptographs, on the other hand, which have been sent us by our correspondent at Stonington, and which are identical in conformation with the cipher resolved by Berryer, no such permanent advantage is to be obtained.
Let us refer to the second of these puzzles. Its key-phrase runs thus:
Suaviter in modo, fortiter in re.
Let us now place the alphabet beneath this phrase, letter beneath letter —
S | u | a | v | i | t | e | r | i | n | m | o | d | o | f | o | r | t | i | t | e | r | i | n | r | e
A | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | i | j | k | l | m | n | o | p | q | r | s | t | u | v | w | x | y | z
We here see that
a stands for ————— c
d “ “ ————— m
e “ “ g, n, and z
f “ “ ————— o
i “ “ e, i, s and w
m “ “ ————— k
n “ “ j and x
o “ “ l, n, and p
r “ “ h, q, v, and y
s “ “ ————— a
t “ “ f, r, and t
u “ “ ————— b
v “ “ ————— d
In this manner n stands for two letters, and e, o, and t for three each, while i and r represent each as many as four. Thirteen characters are made to perform the operations of the whole alphabet. The result of such a key-phrase upon the cipher, is to give it the appearance of a mere medley of the letters e, o, t, r and i — the latter character greatly predominating, through the accident of being employed for letters which, themselves, are inordinately prevalent