English
"UndoubtedlyitisRunic,"saidtheProfessor,bendinghisbrows;"butthereisasecretinit,andImeantodiscoverthekey."
Aviolentgesturefinishedthesentence.
"Sitthere,"headded,holdingouthisfisttowardsthetable."Sitthere,andwrite."
Iwasseatedinatrice.
"NowIwilldictatetoyoueveryletterofouralphabetwhichcorrespondswitheachoftheseIcelandiccharacters.Wewillseewhatthatwillgiveus.
But,bySt.Michael,ifyoushoulddaretodeceiveme–"
Thedictationcommenced.Ididmybest.Everyletterwasgivenmeoneaftertheother,withthefollowingremarkableresult:
mm.rnllsesrevelseecIde
sgtssmfvnteiefniedrke
kt,samnatrateSsaodrrn
emtnaeInvaectrrilSa
Atsaar.nvcrcieaabs
ccrmieevtVlfrAntv
dt,iacoseiboKediiI
[Redactor:Intheoriginalversiontheinitialletterisan'm'withasuperscoreoverit.
Itismysuppositionthatthisisthetranslator'swayofwriting'mm'andIhavereplaceditaccordingly,sinceourtypographydoesnotallowsuchacharacter.]
Whenthisworkwasendedmyuncletorethepaperfrommeandexamineditattentivelyforalongtime.
"Whatdoesitallmean?"hekeptrepeatingmechanically.
UponmyhonourIcouldnothaveenlightenedhim.Besideshedidnotaskme,andhewentontalkingtohimself.
"Thisiswhatiscalledacryptogram,orcipher,"hesaid,"inwhichlettersarepurposelythrowninconfusion,whichifproperlyarrangedwouldrevealtheirsense.
Onlythinkthatunderthisjargontheremaylieconcealedthecluetosomegreatdiscovery!"
Asforme,Iwasofopinionthattherewasnothingatall,init;though,ofcourse,Itookcarenottosayso.
ThentheProfessortookthebookandtheparchment,anddiligentlycomparedthemtogether.
"Thesetwowritingsarenotbythesamehand,"hesaid;"thecipherisoflaterdatethanthebook,anundoubtedproofofwhichIseeinamoment.
Thefirstletterisadoublem,aletterwhichisnottobefoundinTurlleson'sbook,andwhichwasonlyaddedtothealphabetinthefourteenthcentury.
Thereforetherearetwohundredyearsbetweenthemanuscriptandthedocument."
Iadmittedthatthiswasastrictlylogicalconclusion.
"Iamthereforeledtoimagine,"continuedmyuncle,"thatsomepossessorofthisbookwrotethesemysteriousletters.Butwhowasthatpossessor?Ishisnamenowheretobefoundinthemanuscript?"
Myuncleraisedhisspectacles,tookupastronglens,andcarefullyexaminedtheblankpagesofthebook.
Onthefrontofthesecond,thetitle–page,henoticedasortofstainwhichlookedlikeaninkblot.
Butinlookingatitverycloselyhethoughthecoulddistinguishsomehalf–effacedletters.
Myuncleatoncefasteneduponthisasthecentreofinterest,andhelabouredatthatblot,untilbythehelpofhismicroscopeheendedbymakingoutthefollowingRuniccharacterswhichhereadwithoutdifficulty.
"ArneSaknussemm!"hecriedintriumph."WhythatisthenameofanotherIcelander,asavantofthesixteenthcentury,acelebratedalchemist!"
Igazedatmyunclewithsatisfactoryadmiration.
"Thosealchemists,"heresumed,"Avicenna,Bacon,Lully,Paracelsus,weretherealandonlysavantsoftheirtime.
Theymadediscoveriesatwhichweareastonished.
HasnotthisSaknussemmconcealedunderhiscryptogramsomesurprisinginvention?Itisso;itmustbeso!"
TheProfessor'simaginationtookfireatthishypothesis.
"Nodoubt,"Iventuredtoreply,"butwhatinterestwouldhehaveinthushidingsomarvellousadiscovery?"
"Why?Why?HowcanItell?DidnotGalileodothesamebySaturn?Weshallsee.Iwillgetatthesecretofthisdocument,andIwillneithersleepnoreatuntilIhavefounditout."
Mycommentonthiswasahalf–suppressed"Oh!"
"Noryoueither,Axel,"headded.
"Thedeuce!"saidItomyself;"thenitisluckyIhaveeatentwodinnersto–day!"
"Firstofallwemustfindoutthekeytothiscipher;thatcannotbedifficult."
AtthesewordsIquicklyraisedmyhead;butmyunclewentonsoliloquising.
"There'snothingeasier.Inthisdocumentthereareahundredandthirty–twoletters,viz.,seventy–sevenconsonantsandfifty–fivevowels.
Thisistheproportionfoundinsouthernlanguages,whilstnortherntonguesaremuchricherinconsonants;thereforethisisinasouthernlanguage."
Thesewereveryfairconclusions,Ithought.
"Butwhatlanguageisit?"
HereIlookedforadisplayoflearning,butImetinsteadwithprofoundanalysis.
"ThisSaknussemm,"hewenton,"wasaverywell–informedman;nowsincehewasnotwritinginhisownmothertongue,hewouldnaturallyselectthatwhichwascurrentlyadoptedbythechoicespiritsofthesixteenthcentury;ImeanLatin.
IfIammistaken,IcanbuttrySpanish,French,Italian,Greek,orHebrew.
ButthesavantsofthesixteenthcenturygenerallywroteinLatin.
Iamthereforeentitledtopronouncethis,ˆpriori,tobeLatin.ItisLatin."
Ijumpedupinmychair.MyLatinmemoriesroseinrevoltagainstthenotionthatthesebarbarouswordscouldbelongtothesweetlanguageofVirgil.
"Yes,itisLatin,"myunclewenton;"butitisLatinconfusedandindisorder;"pertubataseuinordinata,"asEuclidhasit."
"Verywell,"thoughtI,"ifyoucanbringorderoutofthatconfusion,mydearuncle,youareacleverman."
"Letusexaminecarefully,"saidheagain,takinguptheleafuponwhichIhadwritten.
"Hereisaseriesofonehundredandthirty–twolettersinapparentdisorder.
Therearewordsconsistingofconsonantsonly,asnrrlls;others,ontheotherhand,inwhichvowelspredominate,asforinstancethefifth,uneeief,orthelastbutone,oseibo.
Nowthisarrangementhasevidentlynotbeenpremeditated;ithasarisenmathematicallyinobediencetotheunknownlawwhichhasruledinthesuccessionoftheseletters.
Itappearstomeacertaintythattheoriginalsentencewaswritteninapropermanner,andafterwardsdistortedbyalawwhichwehaveyettodiscover.
Whoeverpossessesthekeyofthiscipherwillreaditwithfluency.Whatisthatkey?Axel,haveyougotit?"
Ianswerednotaword,andforaverygoodreason.
Myeyeshadfallenuponacharmingpicture,suspendedagainstthewall,theportraitofGräuben.
Myuncle'swardwasatthattimeatAltona,stayingwitharelation,andinherabsenceIwasverydownhearted;forImayconfessittoyounow,theprettyVirlandaiseandtheprofessor'snephewlovedeachotherwithapatienceandacalmnessentirelyGerman.
Wehadbecomeengagedunknowntomyuncle,whowastoomuchtakenupwithgeologytobeabletoenterintosuchfeelingsasours.
Gräubenwasalovelyblue–eyedblonde,rathergiventogravityandseriousness;butthatdidnotpreventherfromlovingmeverysincerely.
Asforme,Iadoredher,ifthereissuchawordintheGermanlanguage.
ThusithappenedthatthepictureofmyprettyVirlandaisethrewmeinamomentoutoftheworldofrealitiesintothatofmemoryandfancy.
Therelookeddownuponmethefaithfulcompanionofmylaboursandmyrecreations.
Everydayshehelpedmetoarrangemyuncle'spreciousspecimens;sheandIlabelledthemtogether.
MademoiselleGräubenwasanaccomplishedmineralogist;shecouldhavetaughtafewthingstoasavant.
Shewasfondofinvestigatingabstrusescientificquestions.
Whatpleasanthourswehavespentinstudy;andhowoftenIenviedtheverystoneswhichshehandledwithhercharmingfingers.
Then,whenourleisurehourscame,weusedtogoouttogetherandturnintotheshadyavenuesbytheAlster,andwenthappilysidebysideuptotheoldwindmill,whichformssuchanimprovementtothelandscapeattheheadofthelake.
Ontheroadwechattedhandinhand;Itoldheramusingtalesatwhichshelaughedheartilv.
ThenwereachedthebanksoftheElbe,andafterhavingbidgood–byetotheswan,sailinggracefullyamidstthewhitewaterlilies,wereturnedtothequaybythesteamer.
ThatisjustwhereIwasinmydream,whenmyunclewithavehementthumponthetabledraggedmebacktotherealitiesoflife.
"Come,"saidhe,"theveryfirstideawhichwouldcomeintoanyone'sheadtoconfusethelettersofasentencewouldbetowritethewordsverticallyinsteadofhorizontally."
"Indeed!"saidI.
"Nowwemustseewhatwouldbetheeffectofthat,Axel;putdownuponthispaperanysentenceyoulike,onlyinsteadofarrangingthelettersintheusualway,oneaftertheother,placetheminsuccessioninverticalcolumns,soastogroupthemtogetherinfiveorsixverticallines."
Icaughthismeaning,andimmediatelyproducedthefollowingliterarywonder:
Iyloau
lolwrb
ou,nGe
vwmdrn
eeyea!
"Good,"saidtheprofessor,withoutreadingthem,"nowsetdownthosewordsinahorizontalline."
Iobeyed,andwiththisresult:
Iyloaulolwrbou,nGevwmdrneeyea!
"Excellent!"saidmyuncle,takingthepaperhastilyoutofmyhands.
"Thisbeginstolookjustlikeanancientdocument:thevowelsandtheconsonantsaregroupedtogetherinequaldisorder;thereareevencapitalsinthemiddleofwords,andcommastoo,justasinSaknussemm'sparchment."
Iconsideredtheseremarksveryclever.
"Now,"saidmyuncle,lookingstraightatme,"toreadthesentencewhichyouhavejustwritten,andwithwhichIamwhollyunacquainted,Ishallonlyhavetotakethefirstletterofeachword,thenthesecond,thethird,andsoforth."
Andmyuncle,tohisgreatastonishment,andmymuchgreater,read:
"Iloveyouwell,myowndearGräuben!"
"Hallo!"criedtheProfessor.
Yes,indeed,withoutknowingwhatIwasabout,likeanawkwardandunluckylover,Ihadcompromisedmyselfbywritingthisunfortunatesentence.
"Aha!youareinlovewithGräuben?"hesaid,withtherightlookforaguardian.
"Yes;no!"Istammered.
"YouloveGräuben,"hewentononceortwicedreamily."Well,letusapplytheprocessIhavesuggestedtothedocumentinquestion."
Myuncle,fallingbackintohisabsorbingcontemplations,hadalreadyforgottenmyimprudentwords.
Imerelysayimprudent,forthegreatmindofsolearnedamanofcoursehadnoplaceforloveaffairs,andhappilythegrandbusinessofthedocumentgainedmethevictory.
JustasthemomentofthesupremeexperimentarrivedtheProfessor'seyesflashedrightthroughhisspectacles.
Therewasaquiveringinhisfingersashegraspedtheoldparchment.Hewasdeeplymoved.
Atlasthegaveapreliminarycough,andwithprofoundgravity,naminginsuccessionthefirst,thenthesecondletterofeachword,hedictatedmethefollowing:
mmessvnkaSenrA.icefdoK.segnittamvrtn
ecertserrette,rotaisadva,ednecsedsadne
lacartniiilvIsiratracSarbmvtabiledmek
meretarcsilvcoIsleffenSnI.
IconfessIfeltconsiderablyexcitedincomingtotheend;theselettersnamed,oneatatime,hadcarriednosensetomymind;IthereforewaitedfortheProfessorwithgreatpomptounfoldthemagnificentbuthiddenLatinofthismysteriousphrase.
Butwhocouldhaveforetoldtheresult?Aviolentthumpmadethefurniturerattle,andspiltsomeink,andmypendroppedfrombetweenmyfingers.
"That'snotit,"criedmyuncle,"there'snosenseinit."
Thendartingoutlikeashot,bowlingdownstairslikeanavalanche,herushedintotheKönigstrasseandfled.
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