I took great pains to understand the techniques of secret writing and attempted many times to apply these skills.  I put my reputation on the line by challenging the public to send me an unbreakable cipher.  Of course, I solved them all, even the one’s I wrote myself.

            You may wish to examine my monograph, A Few Words on Secret Writing, for clues which may lead to a solution to the Beale codes.  Particularly relevant are my comments on book ciphers.  

            A minor point.  Compare my comment in A Few Words on Secret Writing, that “letters were poured in upon the editor FROM ALL PARTS OF THE COUNTRY” to my Beale Papers statement that, “I anticipate for these papers a large circulation and to avoid the multitude of letters FROM ALL SECTIONS OF THE UNION…”