The Century of Inventions of the Marquis of Worcester / from the Original MS., with Historical and Explanatory Notes and a Biographical Memoir

by Marquis of Edward Somerset Worcester

No. I.

Several sorts of seals, some showing by screws, others by gauges, fastening or unfastening all the marks at once: others, by additional points and imaginary places, proportionable to ordinary escutcheons and seals at arms, each way palpably and punctually setting down (yet private from all others, but the owner, and by his assent) the day of the month, the day of the week, the month of the year, the year of our Lord, the names of the witnesses, and the individual place where any thing was sealed, though in ten thousand several places, together with the very number of lines contained in a contract, whereby falsification may be discovered, and manifestly proved, being upon good grounds suspected.

Upon any of these seals a man may keep accounts of receipts and disbursements, from one farthing to an hundred millions, punctually showing each pound, shilling, penny, or farthing.

By these seals, likewise, any letter, though written but in English, may be read and understood in eight several languages; and in English itself, to clear contrary and different sense, unknown to any but the correspondent, and not to be read or understood by him neither, if opened before it arrive unto him; so that neither threats, nor hopes of reward, can make him reveal the secret, the letter having been intercepted, and first opened by the enemy.

NOTE.

The use of sigili or "autograph seals" is very ancient, indeed we find them mentioned by the prophet Jeremiah (chap. xxii. v. 10); these, however, were invariably engraved on the collets or stones of rings, and it was not till a much later date that hand stamps were applied to that purpose. In England, the first sealed charter extant is that of Edward the Confessor, upon his founding Westminster Abbey; and many of our English kings used them, from an inability to affix any other kind of signature: this indeed is candidly acknowledged by Caedwalla, a Saxon king, who says, at the conclusion of one of his charters, "propriâ manu pro ignorantiâ literarum signum sanctæ crucis expressi et subscripsi."

The nearest approach to a corresponding seal that occurs prior to the sixteenth century, is that described in a decree of Cardinal Otto, who was papal legate in 1237, by which the bishops were to bear on their seals their title, office, dignity, and even their proper names. About this period mottos were likewise generally introduced, but none of those before the publication of the noble author's work were at all adapted for secret correspondence; or, in fact, had they any mode of combining moveable characters in the matrix for the purpose of varying the impression. The principle upon which those described by the Marquis must have been formed is simply this: a frame similar to those in which seals are generally mounted having been first prepared, a number of moveable circles may be made to slide within each other on one common centre. If three are employed, they should be engraved with the numerals, the alphabet, and, if intended for secret writing, the third circle may be furnished with any arbitrary signs that may suggest themselves. These, by means of a key, of which both the corresponding parties must possess a duplicate, may be combined to form the day of the week, month, year, &c.

It would be found very useful in preventing and detecting the mistakes which so frequently occur in the delivery of letters, if the seals in common use were provided with at least two of these revolving circles, with the day of the month and hour of the day engraved on their face, parallel to the stone. A particular part of the arms or cipher being used as an index hand, it would then show the precise hour the letter was sent, without the trouble of dating, &c.

In engraved seals where coats of arms are used, it will be obvious that the seal must be larger than those generally in use, as the circles must be made to revolve round the outer extremity of the stone, and their usefulness will be considerably diminished. With regard to the possibility of forming a key by which writing in any language may be deciphered, we have the following curious anecdote, furnished by the late learned and ingenious Mr. Astle, keeper of His Majesty's Records: he states, on the authority of a noble Lord, deceased, that the late Earl Granville, while Secretary of State, told him, that when he came into office he had his doubts respecting the certainty of deciphering. That he wrote down two or three sentences in the Swedish language, and afterwards put them into such arbitrary marks or characters, as his mind suggested to him; that he sent the paper to Dr. Willes, who returned it the next day, and informed his lordship, that the characters he had sent to him formed certain words, which he had written beneath the cipher, but that he did not understand the language; and Lord Granville declared, that the words were exactly those which he had first written, before he put them into cipher.