The Alphabet Cipher

Lewis Carroll published "The Alphabet-Cipher" in 1868, possibly in a children's magazine. It describes what is known as a Vigenère cipher, a well-known scheme in cryptography. While Carroll calls this cipher "unbreakable", Kasiski had published a volume describing how to break such ciphers five years earlier, and Charles Babbage had secretly found ways to break polyalphabetic ciphers during the Crimean War.

The piece begins with a tabula recta.

"The Alphabet-Cipher", Lewis Carroll, 1868

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ A abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz A B bcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyza B C cdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzab C D defghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabc D E efghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcd E F fghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcde F G ghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdef G H hijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefg H I ijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefgh I J jklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghi J K klmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghij K L lmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijk L M mnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijkl M N nopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklm N O opqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmn O P pqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmno P Q qrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnop Q R rstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopq R S stuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqr S T tuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrs T U uvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrst U V vwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstu V W wxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuv W X xyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvw X Y yzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwx Y Z zabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxy Z ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

Explanation

EACH column of this table forms a dictionary of symbols representing thealphabet: thus, in the A column, the symbol is the same as the letterrepresented; in the B column, A is represented by B, B by C, and so on.

To use the table, some word or sentence should be agreed on by twocorrespondents. This may be called the `key-word', or `key-sentence',and should be carried in the memory only.

In sending a message, write the key-word over it, letter for letter,repeating it as often as may be necessary: the letters of the key-wordwill indicate which column is to be used in translating each letter ofthe message, the symbols for which should be written underneath: thencopy out the symbols only, and destroy the first paper. It will now beimpossible for any one, ignorant of the key-word, to decipher the message,even with the help of the table.

For example, let the key-word be vigilance, and the message `meet me onTuesday evening at seven', the first paper will read as follows --

v i g i l a n c e v i g i l a n c e v i g i l a n c e v i m e e t m e o n t u e s d a y e v e n i n g a t s e v e n h m k b x e b p x p m y l l y r x i i q t o l t f g z z v

The second will contain only 'h m k b x e b p x p m y l l y r x i i q t o l t f g z z v'.

The receiver of the message can, by the same process, retranslate itinto English.

N.B. — If this table be lost, it can easily be written out from memory,by observing that the first symbol in each column is the same as theletter naming the column, and that they are continued downwards inalphabetical order. Of course it would only be necessary to write out theparticular columns required by the key-word: such a paper, however, shouldnot be preserved, as it would afford means for discovering the key-word.