"He was of a middling stature; his forehead spacious and open, early impressed with the marks of age; his eye lively 
and penetrating; his whole appearance venerably pleasing: so that the beholder was insensibly drawn to love, before 
he knew how much reason there was to admire him." So Bacon (who was middle-aged and also overweight) was 
portrayed by a biographer.

Study this description of a character in "The First Part of King Henry the Fourth (ii, 4, 468):

Falst. A goodly portly man yfaith, and a corpulent, of a chearfull Looke, a pleasing Eye, and a most noble Carriage, 
and as I thinke, his age some fiftie, or (byrlady) inclining to threescore; and now I remember mee, his Name is 
Falstaffe;

Of course, Falstaffe is supposed to be describing himself. But "Falstaffe" followed by an "i" becomes "BEKKIN," as 
we will perceive; he continues:

. . his Name is Falstaffe: if that man should be lewdly giuen hee deceiues mee; for Harry, I see Vertue in his Lookes. 
If then the Tree may be knowne by the Fruit, as the Fruit by the Tree, then peremptorily I speake it, there is Vertue 
in that Falstaffe:

Ciphertext is:
H I S N A M E I S F A L S T A F F E I F T H A T M A N S H O V L D B E L E V D L Y G I V E N H E E D E C E I V E 
S M E E F O R H A R R Y I S E E V E R T V E I N H I S L O O K E S I F T H E N T H E T R E E M A Y B E K N O V N 
E B Y T H E F R V I T A S T H E F R V I T B Y T H E T R E E T H E N P E R E M P T O R I L Y I S P E A K E I T T H 
E R E I S V E R T V E

Plaintext, +4 is:

M N A R E Q I N A K E P A B E K K I N K B M E B Q E R A M S C P H F I P I C H P D L N C I R M I I H I G I N C I 
A Q I I K S Y M E Y Y D N A I I C I Y B C I N R M N A P S S O I A N K B M I R B M I B Y I I Q E D F I O R S C R I F 
D B M I K Y C N B E A B M I K Y C N B F D B M I B Y I I B M I R T I Y I Q T B S Y N P D N A T I E O I N B B M I Y 
I N A C I Y B C I

Plaintext reversed is:

I C B Y I C A N I Y I M B B N I O E I T A N D P N Y S B T Q I Y I T R I M B I I Y B I M B D F B N C Y K I M B A E B 
N C Y K I M B D F I R C S R O I F D E Q I I Y B I M B R I M B K N A I O S S P A N M R N I C B Y I C I I A N D Y Y 
E M Y S K I I Q A I C N I G I H I I M R I C N L D P H C I P I F H P C S M A R E Q B E M B K N I K K E B A P E K A 
N I Q E R A N M

Three names, three spellings again.

* * *

Dowglas suspects that King Henry IV is an impostor, in "The First Part of King Henry the Fourth" (v, 4, 27):

Dow. . .What art thou
That counterfeit'st the person of a King?
King. The King himselfe: who Dowglas grieues at hart
So many of his shadowes thou hast met,
And not the very King. I have two Boyes
Seeke Percy and thy selfe about the Field:
But seeing thou fall'st on me so luckily,
I will assay thee: so defend thy selfe.
Dow. I feare thou art another counterfeit:

Ciphertext is:
V H A T A R T T H O V T H A T C O V N T E R F E I T S T T H E P E R S O N O F A K I N G T H E K I N G H I M S 
E L F E V H O D O V G L A S G R I E V E S A T H A R T S O M A N Y O F H I S S H A D O V E S T H O V H A S T 
M E T A N D N O T T H E V E R Y K I N G I H A V E T V O B O Y E S S E E K E P E R C Y A N D T H Y S E L F E A 
B O V T T H E F I E L D B V T S E E I N G T H O V F A L L S T O N M E S O L V C K I L Y I V I L L A S S A Y T H E 
E S O D E F E N D T H Y S E L F E I F E A R E T H O V A R T A N O T H E R C O V N T E R F E I T

Plaintext, +4 is:

C M E B E Y B B M S C B M E B G S C R B I Y K I N B A B B M I T I Y A S R S K E O N R L B M I O N R L M N Q A 
I P K I C M S H S C L P E A L Y N I C I A E B M E Y B A S Q E R D S K M N A A M E H S C I A B M S C M E A B Q 
I B E R H R S B B M I C I Y D O N R L N M E C I B C S F S D I A A I I O I T I Y G D E R H B M D A I P K I E F S C B 
B M I K N I P H F C B A I I N R L B M S C K E P P A B S R Q I A S P C G O N P D N C N P P E A A E D B M I I A S 
H I K I R H B M D A I P K I N K I E Y I B M S C E Y B E R S B M I Y G S C R B I Y K I N B

Plaintext reversed is:

B N I K Y I B R C S G Y I M B S R E B Y E C S M B I Y E I K N I K P I A D M B H R I K I H S A I I M B D E A A E P P 
N C N D P N O G C P S A I Q R S B A P P E K C S M B L R N I I A B C F H P I N K I M B B C S F E I K P I A D M B 
H R E D G Y I T I O I I A A I D S F S C B I C E M N L R N O D Y I C I M B B S R H R E B I Q B A E M C S M B A I C 
S H E M A A N M K S D R E Q S A B Y E M B E A I C I N Y L A E P L C S H S M C I K P I A Q N M L R N O I M B 
L R N O E K S R S A Y I T I M B B A B N I K Y I B R C S G B E M B C S M B B Y E B E M C

Three more occurrences of this "naame." This word "counterfeit" will be encountered often.

* * *

Ursula questions Anthonio:

Vrsula. I know you well enough, your are Signior Anthonio.
Anth. At a word, I am not.
Vrsula. I know you by the wagling of your head.
Anth. To tell you true, I counterfeit him.
Vrsu. You could neuer doe him so ill well vnlesse you were the very man: here's his
ry hand vp and down, you are he, you are he.
Anth. At a word I am not.
Ursula. Come, come, doe you thinke I doe not know you by your excellent wit? can vertue hide it selfe? goe to, 
mumme, you are he, graces will appeare, and there's an end.

This debate is from "Much adoe about Nothing" (ii, 1, 112). Only one line will be examined, and in this "counterfeit" 
is misspelled; however it is not misspelled in the 1600 Quarto edition:

Ciphertext is:
T O T E L L Y O V T R V E I C O V N T E R F E I T H I M

Plaintext, +4 is:

B S B I P P D S C B Y C I N G S C R B I Y K I N B M N Q

Our disguised name appears twice in one line.

* * *

Still another "name" example may be found in "The Winters Tale" (iv, 3, 47):

Clowne. . .Foure pound of prewyns, and as many of Reysons o'th Sun.
Aut. Oh, that euer I was borne.
Clowne: I'th name of me.

Ciphertext is:
O H T H A T E V E R I V A S B O R N E I T H N A M E O F M E

Plaintext, +4 is:

S M B M E B I C I Y N C E A F S Y R I N B M R E Q I S K Q I

"name of me" and "M E B I C I Y N" have an intriguing affinity.

* * *

From "A Midsommer Nights Dreame" (iii, 2, 27):

Their sense thus weake, lost with their fears thus strong,
Made senselesse things begin to do them wrong.
For briars and thornes at their apparell snatch,
Some sleeues, some hats, from yeelders all things catch,
I led them on in this distracted feare,
And left sweete Piramus translated there:

Piramus does translate, when followed by a "t," just as Falstaffe does with an "i":

Ciphertext is:
T H E I R S E N S E T H V S V E A K E L O S T V I T H T H E I R F E A R S T H V S S T R O N G M A D E S E N S E 
L E S S E T H I N G S B E G I N T O D O T H E M V R O N G F O R B R I A R S A N D T H O R N E S A T T H E I R 
A P P A R E L L S N A T C H S O M E S L E E V E S S O M E H A T S F R O M Y E E L D E R S A L L T H I N G S C 
A T C H I L E D T H E M O N I N T H I S D I S T R A C T E D F E A R E A N D L E F T S V E E T E P I R A M V S T 
R A N S L A T E D T H E R E

Ciphertext reversed is:

E R E H T D E T A L S N A R T S V M A R I P E T E E V S T F E L D N A E R A E F D E T C A R T S I D S I H T N I 
N O M E H T D E L I H C T A C S G N I H T L L A S R E D L E E Y M O R F S T A H E M O S S E V E E L S E M O S 
H C T A N S L L E R A P P A R I E H T T A S E N R O H T D N A S R A I R B R O F G N O R V M E H T O D O T N 
I G E B S G N I H T E S S E L E S N E S E D A M G N O R T S S V H T S R A E F R I E H T H T I V T S O L E K A E V 
S V H T E S N E S R I E H T

Plaintext, +4 is:

I Y I M B H I B E P A R E Y B A C Q E Y N T I B I I C A B K I P H R E I Y E I K H I B G E Y B A N H A N M B R N R 
S Q I M B H I P N M G B E G A L R N M B P P E A Y I H P I I D Q S Y K A B E M I Q S A A I C I I P A I Q S A M G 
B E R A P P I Y E T T E Y N I M B B E A I R Y S M B H R E A Y E N Y F Y S K L R S Y C Q I M B S H S B R N L I F A 
L R N M B I A A I P I A R I A I H E Q L R S Y B A A C M B A Y E I K Y N I M B M B N C B A S P I O E I C A C M B 
I A R I A Y N I M B

* * *

In Elizabethan times, many authors concealed their names through the use of acrostics. Often, such names or 
messages were hidden in the initial capitals of succeeding lines of verse. Bacon, so far as I know, used this device on 
only seven occasions. He hints at it with suggestive words, in "The Life of Henry the Fift" (ii, 2, 53); and, compared 
to the 1600 Quarto, these lines were painstakingly rearranged when edited for the 1623 Folio:

In the earlier Quarto he had written:
If litle faults proceeding on distemper should not bee winked at,
How should we stretch our eye, when capitall crimes,
Chewed, swallowed and digested, appeare before vs:
Well yet enlarge the man, tho Cambridge and the rest
In their deare loues. . .

Now we may glimpse the cryptogapher at work as he redrafts this excerpt, so as encipher the intial capital letters of 
each line for the 1623 Folio:

If little faults proceeding on distemper,
Shall not be wink'd at, how shall we stretch our eye
When capitall crimes, chew'd, swallow'd, and digested,
Appeare before vs? Wee'l yet inlarge that man,
Though Cambridge, Scroope, and Gray, in their deere care

Ciphertext is:

I S V A T

Ciphertext reversed is:

T A V S I

Plaintext is:

B E C A N

The sense of these lines was scarcely modified, and the remainder of this speech of King Henry V was not altered.

In the edited version the clues have been preserved for the benefit of the most intractable academicians. The lower 
case letters in the original version have been "inlarged." By the use of "capitalls" the writer has directed our attention 
to these newly minted upper case letters. For what reason were these transformations made, unless to encipher the 
author's name?

A cardinal measure of cipher authenticity--intention--has been demonstrated. The author has left behind an 
unmistakable "smoking pistol."

Cambridge and Gray's Inn (which was added) happen to be the University and the Law College that Francis Bacon 
attended.

* * *

Here is another specimen, in which the capital letters are employed, from "Measure for Measure" (i, 3, 40); they are 
shown in bold type:

I have on Angelo impos'd the office,
Who may in th'ambush of my name, strike home,
And yet, my nature never in the fight
To do in slander: And to behold his sway

A signature is hidden "in th'ambush of my name." Reading all capitals downward, the

Ciphertext is:

I A W A T A

Ciphertext reversed is:

A T A W A I

Plaintext is:

E B E C E N

* * *

"Caps" is a word long used by printers as an abbreviation for upper case type. This word, or "cap," is used six times 
in thirty lines in "The Taming of the Shrew" (iv, 3, 68).

Fel. Heere is the cap your Worship did bespeake.
Pet. Why this was moulded on a porrenger,
A veluet dish: Fie, fie, 'tis lewd and filthy,
Why 'tis a cockle or a walnut-shell,
A Knacke, a toy, a tricke, a babies cap.
Away with it, come let me have a bigger.

Then follow these five lines:

Kate. Ile haue no bigger, this doth fit the time,
And Gentlewomen weare such caps as these.
Pet. When you are gentle, you shall haue one too,
And not till then.
Hor. That will not be in hast.

Let us examine these "caps," the initial capitalized letters of each line:

Ciphertext is:

I A W A T

Ciphertext reversed is:

T A W A I

Plaintext is:

B E C E N

* * *

Published in 1640 by John Benson was a book of "POEMS: WRITTEN BY WIL. SHAKESPEARE. Gent." Many of the 
Sonnets were included, but in a different order, together with other poems. Most of the latter are rejected by the 
scholars as unjustly imputed. Several verses memorialize the Bard, as witness the following:

On the death of William Shakespeare, whodied Aprill, Anno Dom. 1616.

REnowned Spenser lie a thought more nigh
To learned Chauser, and rare Beaumount lie
A little neerer Spenser to make roome,
For Shakespeare in your three-fold, foure-fold Tombe;
To lodge all foure in one bed make a shift,
Vntill Dommes-day, for hardly shall a fift
Betwixt this day and that by Fate be slaine,
For whom your Curtaines may be drawne againe.
If your precedencie in death doth barre,
A fourth place in your sacred Sepulchre
Vnder this sacred Marble of thy owne,
Sleepe rare Tragedian Shakespeare, sleepe alone;
Thy unmolested peace in an unshar'd Cave,
Possesse as Lord, not Tennant of thy Grave.
That unto us, and others it may be,
Honour hereafter to be laid by thee.

W. B.

"For whom your Curtaines may be drawne againe." Consider the initial capitalized letters (bold) of the five lines 
following that one:

Ciphertext is:

I A V S T

Ciphertext reversed:

T S V A I

Plaintext is:

B A C E N

Or, we may choose all of the capitals in the four lines following "Curtaines":

Ciphertext is:

I A S V M S T

Ciphertext reversed:

T S M V S A I

Plaintext is:

B A Q C A E N

For the curious, there is also a cipher in the second line--more particularly a "CEIFIYEYHRE." Now the veil may be 
drawn againe.

* * *

The following is a comparison of two very similar versions of a Shakespeare sonnet. The lines printed in Roman type 
are from verse II of The Passionate Pilgrime, (1599) while the lines shown in italics are from Sonnet 144 of the 1609 
Quarto:

1. TWo Loues I haue, of Comfort, and Despaire,
TWo Loues I haue of comfort and dispaire,
2. That like two Spirits, do suggest me still:
Which like two spirits do sugiest me still,
3. My better Angell is a Man (right faire)
The better angell is a man right faire:
4. My worser spirite a Woman (colour'd ill.)
The worser spirit a woman collour'd il.
5. To winne me soone to hell, my Female euill
To win me soone to hell my femall euill,
6. Tempteth my better Angell from my side,
Tempteth my better angel from my sight,
7. And would corrupt my Saint to be a Diuell,
And would corrupt my saint to be a diuel:
8. Wooing his purity with her faire pride.
Wooing his purity with her fowle pride,
9. And whether that my Angell be turnde feend,
And whether that my angel be turn'd finde,
10. Suspect I may (yet not directly tell:
Suspect I may, yet not directly tell,
11. For being both to me: both, to each friend,
But being both from me both to each friend,
12. I ghesse one Angell in anothers hell:
I gesse one angel in an others hel,
13. The truth I shall not know, but liue in doubt,
Yet this shal I nere know but liue in doubt,
14. Till my bad Angell fire my good one out.
Till my bad angel fire my good one out.

There are minor changes in spelling, punctuation and one change in sense (faire in line 8 becomes fowle in the later 
version). The major change is in capitalization. Let us string all the capitals together and examine them:

Ciphertext of 1599 verse:
T V L I C D T S M A M M V T F T A A S D V A A S I F I A T I T A

Plaintext, +4 is:

B C P N G H B A Q E Q Q C B K B E E A H C E E A N K N E B N B E

Perhaps the earlier version of Bacon's plaintext name seemed too long; therefore, in editing the 1609 version, the 
author reduced fifteen of the capitals to lower case with this effect:

Ciphertext of 1609 verse:
T V I V T T T T A V A S I B I Y T

Plaintext, +4 is:B C N C B B B B E C E A N F N D B

* * *

Karl Andreassen, writing in Computer Cryptology (Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1988), discusses null ciphers of this variety:

An interesting type of cipher not often seen in the popular literature is the concealment, or null, cipher. Among its 
many variations is the use of prearranged letter positions in ordinary plaintext. Because the English language is so 
richly endowed with synonyms and capable of colloquial interpretation, it is particularly adaptable to null-cipher 
applications.

For instance, a plain language sentence may appear to convey an interesting but common statement of fact. While 
the sentence reads innocuously like simple plain language, the words used are carefully selected to divert attention, 
that of concealing [by steganography] a message other than the obvious one. . .

Engineers seek solid proof for their every assumption in furthering a technically complex project. In contrast, 
cryptanalysts are most successful when carrying multiple assumptions with no proof at all, and hunches are pearls 
to be treasured.

In Chapter Nine, I referred to Wiliam F. Friedman's discussion of the cryptographic methods of Sir John Salusbury. I 
will quote another of his examples from p. 99 of The Shakespearean Ciphers Examined:

We have already remarked that acrostics were popular in Elizabethan literature; it should also be stressed that 
spelling in those days was erratic. Sir John Salusbury, who was as devoted to acrostics as he was to a lady called 
Dorothy Halsall, enfolded her name in poem after poem [citing Bryn Mawr College Monographs, vol. XIV, 1913]. 
One of them runs [with critical letters shown in bold type]:

Tormented heart in thrall, Yea thrall to love,
Respecting will, Heart-breaking gaine doth grow,
Ever DOLOBELIA, Time will so proue,
Binding distresse, O gem wilt thou allowe,
This fortune my will Repose-lesse of ease,
Vnlesse thou LEDA, Over-spread my heart,
Cutting all my ruth, dayne Disdaine to cease,
I yield to fate, and welcome endles Smart.

This, with occasional irregularities, conceals the name CUTBERT (Dorothy's husband) reading the initial letters 
upwards from the seventh line, and the two parts of the name DOROTHY HALSALL as the letters on either side of 
the break in the middle of each line; the initials I.S. (for Iohn Salusbury) appear as the first letter of the first word and 
the first letter of the last word in the final line. . .In all, Salusbury uses six different versions of his own name in 
various acrostic signatures; spells the name Francis as Fransis wherever it suits him; regards I and IE as 
interchangeable with Y; and replaces J's with I's or I's with J's according to whim.

Thus Friedman does not insist upon proper name spelling and permits "occasional irregularities." The cipher does 
not read from top to bottom; it is reversed and the plaintext travels from bottom to top. Here, he says, is one "of a 
number of instances which could be cited; but what makes it true that they, and the others, are genuine cases of 
cryptography is that the validity of the deciphered text and the inflexibility of the systems employed are obvious. . 
.In each case, there is no room to doubt that they were put there by the deliberate intent of the author; the length of 
the hidden text, and the absolutely rigid order in which the letters appear, combine to make it enormously 
improbable that they just happened to be there by accident."

Friedman is speaking of null ciphers; these include all such acrostics. In The Advancement of Learning, Francis 
Bacon mentions them, among others:

Wherefore let us come to CYPHARS. Their kinds are many, as Cyphars simple; Cyphars intermixt with Nulloes, or 
non-significant Characters; Cyphers of double Letters under one Character; Wheele-Cyphars; Kay-Cyphars; Cyphars 
of words; Others.

In many of the cipher examples presented here we are dealing with "Cyphars of words. . .Intermixt with Nulloes." 
That it may be difficult to find the plaintext is not a defensible objection, particularly where a cue may be found in 
the ciphertext.

Readers of my book have asked why Bacon varied the spelling of his name in plaintext. One insisted that he would 
never, never misspell his own name, though there is no evidentiary justification for this conjecture. On the contrary, 
John Salusbury's example, of six different name spellings, shows this to be an acceptable Seventeenth Century 
acrostic practice.

There is a very good reason why Bacon did alter the spelling of his surname, and an example is given by David Kahn 
in The Codebreakers, p. 336. During WWI a German Signal officer by the name of Jaeger set out to stiffen code 
discipline. However his own name was not in the codebook and had to be spelled out in every transmitted order. 
"This was frequently. Its peculiar formation--the repetition of the high frequency e, for example-- permitted G.2 A.6 
to identify it readily, and this in turn led to important clues concerning the superenciphering Geheimklappe. . .Jaeger 
was beloved by his adversaries because he kept them up to date with code changes, and it was with genuine regret 
that they saw his name disappear from the German traffic." Thus any word (a suspected "crib") routinely recurring 
in cipher messages is an apt key to a solution.

Kahn mentions another decryption accomplished by Charles Babbage: "For example, in 1846, he broke an enciphered 
letter from his nephew Henry by guessing that it began Dear Uncle and ended with nephew and Henry."

To assume that Francis Bacon was ignorant of such hazards is to overlook his awareness of the principles of 
cryptanalysis. And to demand that he follow Twentieth Century notions of proper cryptographic form (while 
neglecting steganographic acrostics) is absurd.

* * *

"Hamlet" in the 1623 Folio (v, 2, 403) was doctored twice, so as to remove the author's name. In the supposedly 
"bad" Quarto of 1603, six lines up from the very last line, is this part of the final speech of Fortinbras: Let foure of 
our chiefest Captaines Beare Hamlet like a souldier to his grave:

The name appears twice in this manner:
Ciphertext is:

L E T F O V R E O F O V R C H I E F E S T C A P T A I N E S B E A R E H A M L E T L I K E A S O V L D I E R T O 
H I S G R A V E

Ciphertext reversed is:

E V A R G S I H O T R E I D L V O S A E K I L T E L M A H E R A E B S E N I A T P A C T S E F E I H C R V O F O 
E R V O F T E L

Plaintext, +4 is:

I C E Y L A N M S B Y I N H P C S A E I O N P B I P Q E M I Y E I F A I R N E B T E G B A I K I N M G Y C S K S I 
Y C S K B I P

Plaintext, alternate letters:

C Y A M B I H C A I N B P E I E F I N B E B I I M Y S S Y S B P

However, after the first time these lines were amended, in the 1604 "good" Quarto they are shown as:

Let foure Captaines
Beare Hamlet like a souldier to the stage,

This removed the offending word "chiefest" and the consequential "BAIKIN." But the shadowy editor was not 
satisfied. In the 1623 Folio the lines are:

Let foure Captaines
Beare Hamlet like a soldier to the Stage,

This substitution of "soldier" for "souldier" eliminated "BIHCAIN" as well. No more did the author's name appear in 
the last few lines of his most famous play, "Hamlet."

* * *

Another NAME example may be found in "The Taming of the Shrew" (iv, 1, 127). Petruchio complains about the 
obedience of his servants, saying "Where is the foolish knave I sent before?" Grumio answers:

Gru. Heere sir, as foolish as I was before.
Pet. You pezant, swain, you horson malt-horse drudg
Did I not bid thee meete me in the Parke,

Ciphertext is:
H E E R E S I R A S F O O L I S H A S I V A S B E F O R E Y O V P E S A N T S V A I N Y O V H O R S O N M A L T 
H O R S E D R V D G D I D I N O T B I D T H E E M E E T E M E I N T H E P A R K E

Plaintext, +4 is:

M I I Y I A N Y E A K S S P N A M E A N C E A F I K S Y I D S C T I A E R B A C E N R D S C M S Y A S R Q E P B 
M S Y A I H Y C H L H N H N R S B F N H B M I I Q I I B I Q I N R B M I T E Y O I

* * *

In the same play (v, 1, 28) we find the following:

Petr. Nay, I told you your sonne was well beloued in Padua: doe you heare sir, to leaue friuolous circumstances, I 
pray you tell signior Lucentio that his Father is come from Pisa, and here at the doore to speake with him.
Ped. Thou liest his Father is come from Padua, and here looking out at the window.
Vin. Art thou his father?
Ped. I sir, so his mother saies, if I may beleeue her.
Petr. Why how now gentleman: why this is flat knauerie to take vpon you another mans name.

Ciphertext is:
N A Y I T O L D Y O V Y O V R S O N N E V A S V E L L B E L O V E D I N P A D V A D O E Y O V H E A R E S I 
R T O L E A V E F R I V O L O V S C I R C V M S T A N C E S I P R A Y Y O V T E L L S I G N I O R L V C E N T I 
O T H A T H I S F A T H E R I S C O M E F R O M P I S A A N D I S H E R E A T T H E D O O R E T O S P E A K E 
V I T H H I M T H O V L I E S T H I S F A T H E R I S C O M E F R O M P A D V A A N D H E R E L O O K I N G O 
V T A T T H E V I N D O V A R T T H O V H I S F A T H E R I S I R S O H I S M O T H E R S A I E S I F I M A Y B E 
L E E V E H E R V H Y H O V N O V G E N T L E M A N V H Y T H I S I S F L A T K N A V E R I E T O T A K E V 
P O N Y O V A N O T H E R M A N S N A M E

Ciphertext reversed is:

E M A N S N A M R E H T O N A V O Y N O P V E K A T O T E I R E V A N K T A L F S I S I H T Y H V N A M E L 
T N E G V O N V O H Y H V R E H E V E E L E B Y A M I F I S E I A S R E H T O M S I H O S R I S I R E H T A F S I 
H V O H T T R A V O D N I V E H T T A T V O G N I K O O L E R E H D N A A V D A P M O R F E M O C S I R E 
H T A F S I H T S E I L V O H T M I H H T I V E K A E P S O T E R O O D E H T T A E R E H S I D N A A S I P M O 
R F E M O C S I R E H T A F S I H T A H T O I T N E C V L R O I N G I S L L E T V O Y Y A R P I S E C N A T S M 
V C R I C S V O L O V I R F E V A E L O T R I S E R A E H V O Y E O D A V D A P N I D E V O L E B L L E V S A V 
E N N O S R V O Y V O Y D L O T I Y A N

Plaintext, +4 is:

I Q E R A R E Q Y I M B S R E C S D R S T C I O E B S B I N Y I C E R O B E P K A N A N M B D M C R E Q I P B R 
I L C S R C S M D M C Y I M I C I I P I F D E Q N K N A I N E A Y I M B S Q A N M S A Y N A N Y I M B E K A N 
M C S M B B Y E C S H R N C I M B B E B C S L R N O S S P I Y I M H R E E C H E T Q S Y K I Q S G A N Y I M B E 
K A N M B A I N P C S M B Q N M M B N C I O E I T A S B I Y S S H I M B B E I Y I M A N H R E E A N T Q S Y K 
I Q S G A N Y I M B E K A N M B E M B S N B R I G C P Y S N R L N A P P I B C S D D E Y T N A I G R E B A Q C 
G Y N G A C S P S C N Y K I C E I P S B Y N A I Y E I M C S D I S H E C H E T R N H I C S P I F P P I C A E C I R R 
S A Y C S D C S D H P S B N D E R

The last sentence of the ciphertext, as recorded above, is "Why how now gentleman: why this is flat knaverie to take 
vpon you another mans name." Indeed it is, and we may read his "NAME" three times. In fact he proclaims with 
each repetition, "I'm Bacon."

An unmistakable cue like this is a marker, the kind of pointer we should search for. And there are others, as will be 
seen.

* * *

The words "his father" are reiterated in "The Life and Death of Richard the Third" (ii, 3, 26), with the same result:

Why so hath this, both by his Father and Mother.
Better it were they all came by his Father:
Or by his Father there were none at all:

Ciphertext is:
V H Y S O H A T H T H I S B O T H B Y H I S F A T H E R A N D M O T H E R B E T T E R I T V E R E T H E Y A L 
L C O M E B Y H I S F A T H E R O R B Y H I S F A T H E R T H E R E V E R E N O N E A T A L L

Ciphertext reversed is:

L L A T A E N O N E R E V E R E H T R E H T A F S I H Y B R O R E H T A F S I H Y B E M O C L L A Y E H T E R 
E V T I R E T T E B R E H T O M D N A R E H T A F S I H Y B H T O B S I H T H T A H O S Y H V

Plaintext, +4 is:

P P E B E I R S R I Y I C I Y I M B Y I M B E K A N M D F Y S Y I M B E K A N M D F I Q S G P P E D I M B I Y I C B 
N Y I B B I F Y I M B S Q H R E Y I M B E K A N M D F M B S F A N M B M B E M S A D M C

Three more times, in three lines, "I'm Bekan." And, "they all came by his Father."

* * *

"The Life and Death of Richard the Third" (iii, 7, 77) contains this dialog:

But praying, to enrich his watchfull Soule.
Happie were England, would this vertuous Prince
Take on his Grace the Soueraigntie thereof.
But sure I feare we shall not winne him to it.

Ciphertext is:
B V T P R A Y I N G T O E N R I C H H I S V A T C H F V L L S O V L E H A P P I E V E R E E N G L A N D V O V 
L D T H I S V E R T V O V S P R I N C E T A K E O N H I S G R A C E T H E S O V E R A I G N T I E T H E R E O F 
B V T S V R E I F E A R E V E S H A L L N O T V I N N E H I M T O I T

Plaintext, +4 is:

F C B T Y E D N R L B S I R Y N G M M N A C E B G M K C P P A S C P I M E T T N I C I Y I I R L P E R H C S C P 
H B M N A C I Y B C S C A T Y N R G I B E O I S R M N A L Y E G I B M I A S C I Y E N L R B N I B M I Y I S K F C 
B A C Y I N K I E Y I C I A M E P P R S B C N R R I M N Q B S N B

Alternate letters:

F B Y D R B I Y G M A E G K P A C I E T I I I R P R C C H M A I B S A Y R I E I R N L E I M A C Y N R N B I I K C 
A Y N I Y C A E P S C R I N B N

Ciphertext reversed is:

T I O T M I H E N N I V T O N L L A H S E V E R A E F I E R V S T V B F O E R E H T E I T N G I A R E V O S E H 
T E C A R G S I H N O E K A T E C N I R P S V O V T R E V S I H T D L V O V D N A L G N E E R E V E I P P A H 
E L V O S L L V F H C T A V S I H H C I R N E O T G N I Y A R P T V B

Plaintext, +4 is:

B N S B Q N M I R R N C B S R P P E M A I C I Y E I K N I Y C A B C F K S I Y I M B I N B R L N E Y I C S A I M B I 
G E Y L A N M R S I O E B I G R N Y T A C S C B Y I C A N M B H P C S C H R E P L R I I Y I C I N T T E M I P C S 
A P P C K M G B E C A N M M G N Y R I S B L R N D E Y T B C F

Four names, four spellings in four lines.

* * *

On the last page of "A Midsommer nights Dreame"(v, 1, 405) there is a "Song," set entirely in italics; six lines will be 
quoted:

And the issue there create,
Ever shall be fortunate:
So shall all the couples three,
Ever true in loving be:
And the blots of Natures hand,
Shall not in their issue stand.

Appropriately, we find in these lines three enciphered names, and all spelt differently:

Ciphertext is:
A N D T H E I S S V E T H E R E C R E A T E E V E R S H A L L B E F O R T V N A T E S O S H A L L A L L T H E 
C O V P L E S T H R E E E V E R T R V E I N L O V I N G B E A N D T H E B L O T S O F N A T V R E S H A N D S 
H A L L N O T I N T H E I R I S S V E S T A N D

Plaintext, +4 is:

E R H B M I N A A C I B M I Y I G Y I E B I I C I Y A M E P P F I K S Y B C R E B I A S A M E P P E P P B M I G S C 
T P I A B M Y I I I C I Y B Y C I N R P S C N R L F I E R H B M I F P S B A S K R E B C Y I A M E R H A M E P P R S 
B N R B M I N Y N A A C I A B E R H

Plaintext reversed is:

H R E B A I C A A N Y N I M B R N B S R P P E M A H R E M A I Y C B E R K S A B S P F I M B H R E I F L R N C 
S P R N I C Y B Y I C I I I Y M B A I P T C S G I M B P P E P P E M A S A I B E R C B Y S K I F P P E M A Y I C I I B 
E I Y G I Y I M B I C A A N I M B H R E

* * *

As Wiliam F. Friedman wrote, the Elizabethan "disregard for absolute consistency" in their orthography "provides an 
argument for anti-Stratfordians, in that they are often able to cite genuine examples of the various spellings, 
abbreviations and forms of title to which they resort." (The Shakespearean Ciphers Examined, 1957).

This is to remind us, in a rather censorious way, not to demand that the Elizabethans conform to current standards 
of spelling and grammar that have been distilled and standardized during the last four hundred years. Read, for 
example, a letter written in 1601:

Suche a prelate if he come shuld be taugh a better leason than play so presumtius and bold a part afor he knewe 
your good liking thereof wich as i hope is far from your intent. So wyl his coming verefie to muche Good Mastar 
Simples asseverations at Rome of wich you have or now bene warned ynough. Thus you se how to fulfil your trust 
reposed in me wiche to infring I never mynde. I have sincerely made patente my sinceritie and thogh not fraught 
with muche wisedome yet stuffed with great good wyl I hope you wyl beare with my molesting you to long with 
my skrating hand as prociding from a hart that shal ever be filled with the sure affection of your loving and frindely 
sistar. (Add. MS. 18738 f. 39, British Library.)

Composed by a backward, poorly tutored student, do you think? No. The letter was addressed to James VI of 
Scotland, later to become James I of England. The writer was highly educated in the classics and had been schooled 
with the instructors of the "New Learning." She was referred to as "that bright Occidental Star" who was the 
authoress of poems written in Latin and Greek. The letter writer was Queen Elizabeth I.

There is a popular story about WWI cryptography; it seems there was a German general who insisted that everyone 
address him as "Your Excellency." The British had already solved the generic system of their cipher and, whenever 
the Germans changed the key, it was only necessary to apply the German term for "Your Excellency" to the first two 
words of the new messages to get a long way into solving them. This principle was known as early as the Fifteenth 
Century in Italy, as mentioned in an earlier chapter. Names of towns and people that occurred often in cipher 
messages were always misspelled. Bacon, I am sure, knew that; thus the variations in his last name.

August Wilhelm von Schlegel (1767-1845) was a famous German critic and a professor of literature at Jena and Bonn. 
His translation of the plays made Shakespeare a best seller and a great influence on German drama. He said, of 
Shakespeare's accepted resume, that it was "a mere fabulous story, a blind extravagant error." William Hazlitt 
(1778-1830), an English essayist, critic and lecturer on British drama, never directly attacked the authorship but he 
observed, "The wisdom displayed in Shakespeare is equal in profoundness to the great Lord Bacon's Novum 
Organum."

Isaac D'Israeli said of Bacon, "He was indeed one of those men who build great mornings for the world."