Curiosities of Cypher
A correspondence was carried on in the Times during May 1862 in cypher. I give it along with the explanation.
WWS.—Zy Efpdolj T dpye l wpeepc ez mjcyp qzc jzf—xlj T daply qfwwj zy lww xleepcd le esp tyepcgtph? Te xlj oz rzzo. Ecfde ez xj wzgp—T lx xtdpclmwp. Hspy xlj T rz ez Nlyepcmfcj tq zywj ez wzzv le jzf.—May 8.
This means—"On Tuesday I sent a letter to Byrne for you. May I speak fully on all matters at the interview? It may do good. Trust to my love. I am miserable. When may I go to Canterbury if only to look at you?"
A couple of days later Byrne advertises, slightly varying the cypher:
WWS.—Sxhrdktg hdbtewxcv "Tmwxqxixdc axzt" udg pcdewtg psktgexhtbtce...QNGCT. "Discover something Exhibition-like for another advertisement. Byrne."
This gentleman is rather mysterious: I must leave my readers to conjecture what he means by "Exhibition-like." On Wednesday came two advertisements, one from the lady—one from the lover. WWS. herself seems rather sensible—
TYDEPLO zq rztyr ez nlyepcmfcj, T estyv jzf slo xfns mpeepc delj le szxp lyo xtyo jzfc mfdtypdd.—WWS., May 10.
"Instead of going to Canterbury, I think you had much better stay at home and mind your business."
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