It was necessary, for the benefit of those untaught in the Eleusinian mysteries wherein Mr. Donnelly revels, to make this exemplary statement of his method. Now for the crucial test that shall establish its genuineness. The author begs permission to announce that he has done some cipher work on his own account, following closely Mr. Donnelly’s instructions; and that he has made a discovery scarcely less interesting to a generation of scoffers than that of his illustrious teacher. Nay, nothing but modesty forbids him to claim first prize; for this application of the identical cipher is absolutely confirmatory of its worth, and sheds new lustre on the names of both Donnelly and Bacon. In studying the cryptogram, with the help of Mr. Donnelly’s directions, the thought suggested itself with overwhelming force, must there not be some reference in the plays to the cipher mystery, and some prophecy of the day when this riddle should be read? Fortunately, it happens that this inquiry need not go unanswered. Not everyone has access to the great Shakespeare folio, so called, in the library of Columbia College. But Messrs. Funk & Wagnalls, New York, published last year a reduced fac-simile of the famous first folio edition of 1623. In his introduction to this volume, Mr. J. O. Halliwell-Phillips, the eminent Shakespearian scholar and critic, says: “For all usual practical objects of study, this cheap reproduction will place its owner on a level with the envied possessors of the far-famed original.” This fac-simile of the 1623 folio, to which alone the cipher applies, has been used in all the researches stimulated by the great cipher discovery. Here was the key and here the treasure house. Not with any desire to rob Mr. Donnelly of future fame, but animated solely by the hope that his work could be proved accurate to the doubter, did the present writer attempt the task of unlocking the secret chamber of genius. It is with more than ordinary pride that he announces a splendid and complete success, which silences forever all cavil as to the cipher.