Contrivances for communicating intelligence by CIPHER. Cipher.
I. By means of a pack of cards. The parties must previously agree in what manner the cards shall be first placed, and then how they shall be shuffled. Thus suppose the cards are to be first placed in the order as hereafter follows, and then shuffled by taking off 3 from the top, putting the next 2 over them, and the following 3 under them*, and so alternately. There-
* By shuf. finge the cards in this manner, there will remain only 2 to put under at last.
I am in full march to relieve you; within three days I shall be with you. If the enemy in the mean time should make an assault, remember what you owe to your country, to your family and yourself. Live with honour, or die with glory.
Order of the cards before the 1st shuffle.
| Ace spades | i a d u y i |
| Ten diamonds | a l e u l |
| Eight hearts | m l n o i u |
| King spades | i s u m l |
| Nine clubs | n h l e o |
| Seven diamonds | f b m r i |
| Nine diamonds | u e a c t n |
| Ace clubs | l w k r y i |
| Knave hearts | l s e e a e |
| Seven spades | m i a r m w |
| Ten clubs | a i t h e r |
| Ten hearts | r r h o f |
| Queen spades | c h e e i |
| Eight diamonds | h a h y w |
| Eight clubs | t y o o s l |
| Seven hearts | o y a o h o |
| Queen clubs | r o n u y h |
| Nine spades | e u i y f y |
| King hearts | l e t e u o |
| Queen diamonds | i d s o e |
| Eight spades | e i n w s o |
| Knave clubs | v f a n t g |
| Seven clubs | e i s l y |
| Ace hearts | y r e b r |
| Nine hearts | o l n w o t |
| Ace diamonds | u h s t b d |
| Knave spades | w l m a l |
| Ten spades | i e y t r r |
| King diamonds | t t i b u r |
| Queen hearts | h h m m u |
| King clubs | i n a t h |
| Knave diamonds | n e u r o |
The person that receives these cards first places them in the order agreed on, and transcribes the first letter on every card. He then shuffles them, according to order, and transcribes the second letter on each card. He shuffles them a second time and transcribes the third letters; and so of the rest.
If the cards were to be shuffled the second time by threes and fours, the third time by twos and fours, &c.
Cipher. it would make the cipher still more difficult to discover: though as all ciphers depend on the combination of letters, there are scarce any that may not be deciphered with time and pains; as we shall show further on. Those ciphers are the best, that are by their nature most free from suspicion of being ciphers; as for example, if the letters were here wrote with one of the sympathetic inks, described in the fourth volume of this work, the cards might then pass for a common pack.