780 Page and Word. Column. 305-31-274-248 (74:2)-26. 193-26-167+1= 168 305-31-274-30-244-145-99. 3 h col.-186. 305-31-274-30-244-50-194. 305-31-274-30-244-10 b col.-234. 305-31-274-145-129-2 h col.-127. 305-31-274—5 b (31)-269-4 h col.-265. 305-31-274-30-244-5 6-239-146-93-3 b (146) 90. 508-90-418+1-419+1 h=420. 305-31-274-248 (74:2)-26. 305-31-274-50-224. 284-224-60+1-61. 305-31-274-30-244-5 b (31)=239-146–93— 3b (146)-90. 468-90-378+1=379. 305-31-274-10 b col.-264. 305-31-274-30-244-7 b & h=237. 305-31-274-248-26. 193+26=219. 305-31-274-5 b (31)-269-15 b & h col.-254. 305-31-274. 447-274-173+1=174. 305-31-274-50-224. 284-224-60+1-61+7h col-68 305-31-274. 284-274-10+1-11+18 b & h col.- 29 The reader will here observe t..at the whole of act i of this play of 2d Henry IV. is used as a basis for this wonderful Cipher, and the two ends of the act act and react on each other. Thus we find the fragments of 74:2, the beginning of scene second, as 50, 30, 198, 218, etc., used to modify the primal root-number, 523, thus: 523-218-305; and when we carry this 305 to the end of the act, in 79:1, and deduct the fragment of scene at the top of the column, containing 31 words, we get the 274 which has been telling the Cipher story through several pages. But this is not all. We take that 274, and again modify it by the fragments of 74:2, to obtain the 224 and 244, etc. (274-50—224 and 274—30—244), which so abundantly occur in the foregoing pages; and this again is modified by deducting the fragment of 76:1 (50), the beginning of the third scene of the act, producing the 174 and 194 seen so often above. But even this does not end the marvelous interlocking of the beginning and the end of the act under the spell of the Cipher, for we see the count starting from the end of the act (305-31-274), carried back to the beginning of the act; and there taken up the column to yield us acts, and taken through 74:2, to yield us making (“glove-making "); and up 75:1 it gives us fellow, and down 74:1 (274—5 (31)=269) it produces crafty; while 224 (274--50-224), carried through the first section of 75:1, brings us to stage. If the reader will turn back to page 729 he will find those words glove making produced thus: Now compare this with the example just given. Observe how an entirely dif ferent primal number, modified by being carried to the end instead of the beginning of the act, is brought back to the same place and brings out the same words: Now consider how exquisitely the skeleton of the text must have been adjusted to bring about these results: in the first instance, the count goes forward to produce the word glove, and the one hyphen is not counted in; in the second case, the count comes from the end of the act and moves backward, and the one hyphen is counted in. The word making is obtained, in the one case, by going up column I of page 74, and counting in all the bracketed and hyphenated words; in the other case, the root-number comes from the end of the act, passes through 74:2, and goes down 74:1. Thus making fits to 274 down the column and to 277 up the column. But some one may think that glove and making are to be found everywhere, all through these Plays, and that therefore it is no trick at all to produce these wonderful arithmetical coördinations. My answer is that this is the only time "glove" is found in this play! And this is the only time "making" is found in this act. It is found but once besides in the play, in the fourth act, and once in the Epilogue. In other words, the gentlemen who may think all this to be accident would have to go thirty-six columns forward from 74:1 before they would find another making to match their glove, to produce the designation of the recognized trade of Shakspere's father. It is impossible to deny the accuracy of my arithmetic (occasional typographical errors, of course, excepted), and it is impossible to deny that the fac-similes given herewith are faithful copies of the Folio of 1623; and it seems to me that all this hundred-fold accumulation of evidences must convince even the most skeptical that there is a Cipher in the Shakespeare Plays. I am aware that my workmanship is not complete, but it is approximately so; and my excuse will be, to all justminded men, the incalculable difficulties of the work. But it was fit and proper that the Cipher made by the greatest intellect that ever existed, and embodied in the greatest writings possessed by mankind, should be as marvelous as the source from which it came, or the vehicle in which it is carried. But this is not all nor a tithe of all. The Bishop says that the aristocracy of the neighborhood fear that Shakspere's friends in London will secure him his coat-of-arms. 305-31-274-50-224-163 (78:1)-61. 498-61 437+1-438. 438 76:1 friends 305-31-274-5 b (31)-269+185 (81:1)=454-2 h col.-452 And here I would call the reader's attention to the microscopic accuracy of this work. If he looks at column 1 of page 81 he would say it was solid:- he will see no stage directions of exits or entrances. But if he will look very closely at the 185th word he will find this following it: Poin. Letter. John Falstaffe Knight. Poin, is the abbreviation of the name of Poins or Pointz, one of the characters; and Sir John Falstaffe" is the opening part of the letter from Falstaff to the Prince; for we read a little below, "Sir John Falstaffe Knight, to the son of the King . .. greeting," etc. But what is letter? It is not part of the letter. Nor does Poins speak the word, for it is put in italics. It is a stage direction, meaning that Poins reads the letter. And on this little hook the author hangs his Cipher, for it breaks the column into two fragments. And they fear the "villain's" influence with the Queen because of the Plays he has written. And hence we have: Here is another cunning piece of work. The Queen is disguised in Queane,— a woman, a wench": Cut me off the villain's head; throw the Queane in the channel. And so they go on to tell the King of Arms that Shakspere never writ them; that he has not the wit or the imagination: I do not pretend to work out the sentence, but simply to jot down from my notes some of the principal words. If I followed the root-numbers into all their ramifications each chapter would grow into a book. And here I would call attention to another proof of the arithmetical adjustment of the text. I have just given the words, "first bringer," thus: 305-31-274-30-244-5 b (31)—239—146–93—3 b But after a while we will find Bacon expressing his fears that if Shakspere is taken prisoner he will say that he was not the author of the Plays, but simply the first bringer of them out upon the stage. And the words come out from the primal root-number, 523. If we commence at the end of scene 2 (76:1) and count upward and then go backward and down the column, the 523d word is first; and if we commence again with 523 at the top of column I of page 75, and go down the column and down the next column, the 523d word is bringer! Thus: 523-448-(backward) 75 75:2 First 76 And it will be seen that the two words "first bringer " follow each other in the text. It would have been difficult to have placed first and bringer in the same vicinity without connecting them; hence the length of column 1 of page 75 and the length of the fragment of scene on 76:1 had to be exactly adjusted to bring the two required words side by side. If there had been 448 words in 75:1, instead of 447, or 449 words on 76:1, instead of 448, both counts would have fallen on the same words! I pity the man who can think all this was accidental. E CHAPTER XVI. SHAKSPERE'S SICKNESS. Why, thou globe of sinful continents, what a life dost thou lead! VERY word of the first part of this chapter grows out of the root number 523-218-305, modified by deducting 31 or 32, to-wit, the number of words in 79:1 from the top of the column to the end of scene 4, act i, or to the beginning of scene 1, act ii. The remainder of the chapter is derived from 504—167=338, and shows how substantially the same story comes out of the same text by two different root-numbers. My publishers advise me that there are already 850 pages in type, and that I must condense the remainder of the Cipher story. I shall therefore be as brief as possible, and instead of giving a continuous narrative I shall only give fragments of the story. We have two descriptions of Shakspere's sickness, one given by the Bishop of Worcester to Cecil, the other the narrative of Bacon himself, interjected into the story; the former is the briefer of the two. The first grows out of the root-number used in the last chapter, 523-218-305; the other from the root-number 505167=338, which gave us the story of Shakspere's youth, his quarrel with Sir Thomas Lucy, the fight, etc. The Bishop says to Cecil, after describing Shakspere's intended house, his "plate" (591 79:2, 96 80:1); his "tapistry" (594 79:2, 37 80:1); his " bed-hangins" (33 80:1), etc., that he will not live to enjoy his grandeur; that he will |