"And now my dears, I suppose we had better get back to Crom, where you
can rest yourselves after this terrible time." Marjory came over to me,
and holding my arm looked at her old nurse lovingly as she said with
deep earnestness:
"You had better go back, dear, and get things ready for us. As for me, I
shall never willingly leave my husband's side again!"
* * * * *
The storm continued for a whole day, growing rougher and wilder with
each hour. For another day it grew less and less, till finally the wind
had died away and only the rough waves spoke of what had been. Then the
sea began to give up its dead. Some seamen presumably those of the
_Wilhelmina_ were found along the coast between Whinnyfold and Old
Slains, and the bodies of two of the blackmailers, terribly mangled,
were washed ashore at Cruden Bay. The rest of the sailors and of the
desperadoes were never found. Whether they escaped by some miracle, or
were swallowed in the sea, will probably never be known.
Strangest of all was the finding of Don Bernardino. The body of the
gallant Spanish gentleman was found washed up on shore behind the Lord
Nelson rock, just opposite where had been the opening to the cave in
which his noble ancestor had hidden the Pope's treasure. It was as
though the sea itself had respected his devotion, and had laid him by
the place of his Trust. Marjory and I saw his body brought home to Spain
when the war was over, and laid amongst the tombs of his ancestors. We
petitioned the Crown; and though no actual leave was given, no objection
was made to our removing the golden figure of San Cristobal which
Benvenuto had wrought for the Pope. It now stands over the Spaniard's
tomb in the church of San Cristobal in far Castile.
APPENDICES
APPENDIX A
"In the First Edition of his work "The Two Bookes of Francis Bacon,
of the proficience and advancement of Learning, divine and humane"
published at London in 1605, the Author only alludes briefly to his
Bi-literal Cipher. Speaking of Ciphers generally (Booke II) he says:
"But the vertues of them, whereby they are to be preferred, are three;
that they be not laborious to write and reade; that they bee impossible
to discypher; and in some cases, that they bee without suspicion.
The highest Degree whereof, is to write OMNIA PER OMNIA; which is
undoubtedly possible, with a proportion Quintuple at most, of the
writing infoulding, to the writing infoulded, and no other restrainte
whatsoever."
It was not till eighteen years later that he gave to the public an
explanation of this 'infoulding' writing. In the rarely beautiful
edition of the work in Latin printed in London by Haviland in 1623, the
passage relating to secret writing is much amplified. Indeed the entire
work is completed in many ways and greatly enlarged as is shown by its
title.
"De Dignitate et Augmentis Scientiarum. Libros IX."
The following is his revised statement:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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