CIPHER

In Diplomatic affairs, " an occult manner of writing, legible to those only who po e the key or secret." This art, in a variety of forms, has been more or le practised in every civilized country; and has been cultivated by the moderns in particular to such a degree as to have acquired the importance of a distinct acience,underlhe names Cryptography, Polygraphy, Stenography, . To give a general exposition of the principles of the art, it would be nece ary to enter into minute details inadmi ible in a work of this kind; but the reader will find In Rees's Cyclopaedia a full and learned disquisition on the subject. 314 [s. 328]