Chapter 85 Chapter Twenty-Four

A letter sent by a lady in Paris to Paiguguay and the meaning of the language on the ring After reading the words written on the envelope, Paiguguet was very surprised, so he asked the messenger who was the name of the lady who sent him, and opened the envelope, but there was no writing on the letter inside, only a gold coin. A ring with a flat diamond on it.He called Banuge and told him what had happened. Banuzhi told him that there was writing on the letter paper, but it was done so cleverly that people could not see the writing. So, in order to read what was written on it, he roasted the letter over the fire to see if it was written with Armonia salt dissolved in water.

Then put it in water again to see if the words on it were written with the sap of Euphorbiaceae ②. Later, I took a photo in front of the candle to see if it was written with the juice of white onions. I also rubbed a part of it with walnut oil to see if it was written by mixing the ashes of fig branches with water. I also used the milk of the mother who gave birth to a daughter in the first birth to wipe part of it to see if it was written with frog blood③. I also rubbed bird's nest ash on one corner to see if it was written with the juice of sour berries. Then I rubbed the earwax on the other end to see if it was written in the bile of a crow.

I also dipped the letter in vinegar to see if it was written with the milky sap of the euphorbia plant. Then it was painted with bat oil to see if it was written with the semen of a whale called ambergris. Then I put the letter gently in a basin of clean water, and took it out again immediately to see if it was written with the sulfuric acid of alum. Later, still seeing nothing, he called the messenger again and asked, "Dude, didn't the lady who sent you the letter ask you to bring a stick?" Aulus? Gelias method ②. The messenger replied, "No, sir." At this time, Panurge wanted to shave the visitor's head to see if the lady had written what she wanted to say on his scalp with a special ink; but seeing that his hair was very long, he had no choice but to Abandoned his idea because there was no way his hair could grow that long in such a short amount of time.

Then he said to Paguguet: "Master, by God, I have nothing to do and nothing to say now! In order to identify whether there is a word on it, I used part of the method of Mr. Francisco Di Nionte from Tuscany. He had How to read works written in intangible script; I also used Peri Gramm① by Zorostall②. ② See Chapter 8 of Volume 26 of Plinius' "Compendium of Natural History", Euphorbiaceae (more than 400 species in total) is a plant with milk-shaped sap. ③ It is a very large frog. It is called rubeta in Latin, and the original rubettes comes from this word. ④ Physalis: Solanaceae Physalis, perennial, herb, two to three feet high, white flowers in summer, slightly green, fruit is a berry, red like a capsule, and can be used for medicine.

① The original text espurge is also a kind of Euphorbiaceae. ② A method commonly used by the Greeks to write a letter on a belt or parchment, and then wrap the belt or a strip of paper around a stick so that the recipient can open it and read it at will.See Chapter Nine of Volume XVII of "Attica Night" by Aulus Gellias. ③ Histiaeios used this method to communicate with Aristagoras, see Section 35 of the fifth volume of Herodotus' History. ① The author's fictitious name, "Niente" means "emptiness, nothingness" according to the Italian word niente.

② Zorostar: The founder of the legendary warlock. atonacriton③ and De Literis illegibilibus⑤ by Calvinius Bassus④, but still nothing can be seen, I think only this ring.Let's take a look at it now. " After observing, I found that the ring was written in Hebrew: Ramasabathani? They called for Abesdemon, and asked him what this meant.He replied that it was in Hebrew, meaning: "Why have you forsaken me?" Banuzhi immediately said: "I see. Do you see this diamond? It's a fake. What the lady was about to say should be interpreted in this way: "Tell me, false lover⑦, why have you forsaken me?"

Paiguguet immediately understood the meaning of this sentence, and he remembered that when he left, he did not say goodbye to the lady; he was very sad, and he wanted to go back to Paris to apologize to the lady.But Abesdemon reminded him of the story of the parting of Aenys and Dido, and what Heraclitus, the man of Landland, said. A ship at anchor, when it comes to an emergency, it is better to cut the rope than to lose time The delay was in untying the rope, so he should put aside all worries and rush back to his hometown in danger. Sure enough, an hour later, the so-called northerly northwest wind blew up. They put up all their sails and set out to sea. In a few days, they sailed past Porto Santo ③, Madeira ④, and anchored in Canada. Nali Islands ⑤.

From there they set out, passing through Cape Blanche, Senegal, Cape Verde, Gambia, Sag, Mairi, and the Cape of Good Hope, before stopping in the country of Melange. From there, take the northerly wind and sail again ⑧, passing through Meadang, Uti, Udon, ⑨Relasin⑩, the Immortal Islands, along the country of Akolia (11) not far away, and finally arrive at Utopia. The port is only a little more than three leagues from Amauroti. They landed and rested for a while, and Paiguguet said: "Children, this is not far from the capital. Before we act, we'd better agree on a plan. We don't want to be like the Athenians. They don't want to discuss it until after the event. Are you determined to share with me?" Life and death?"

③ Greek. "On illegible characters".There is no such work by Zorostall. ④ Calvinius Bassus: Roman Empire philologist in the first century.Plinius mentioned the writer Karpnius Bassus in the first volume of "Outline of Natural History", and he is suspected to be this person. ⑤ Latin: "Unintelligible Text". ⑥ "Why have you forsaken me?" Jesus said a sentence when he died, see "New Testament? Matthew" Chapter 27, Section 46. ⑦ "Tell me, hypocritical lover" (Dy, amant faulx) is the same as "Dyamant faulx" (Dyamant faulx).

① Leave without saying goodbye, thinking it is an insult. ② See Virgil's "Init", Volume IV, Ines drifted on the sea for seven years, landed in Carthage, Queen Dido fell in love with him, but God instructed Ines to leave Dido, Dido was desperate In addition, he committed suicide and died. ③ Porto? Sando: one of the Madeira Islands. ④ Madeira: an archipelago in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean of Africa. ⑤ This itinerary is exactly the route drawn by the German philosopher Simon Grinaus in "New World" in the early sixteenth century. Later, the Spaniards followed this route to India, passing through Porto Sando on the way , Madeira, the Canary Islands, Cape Brown on the west coast of Africa, Senegal, Cape Verde, Gambia, Cape Sag in Liberia, Mairi, Cape of Good Hope, and Melange in Zanzibar.

⑥ Brown Point, on the west coast of Africa. ⑦ Meilangdu, the capital of the country, is an ancient city on the east coast of Africa, which has been destroyed. In ancient times, it traded frequently with Persia and India, importing silk, cotton, and cloth, and exporting gold, copper, ivory and other local products. ⑧ This trip is fictitious. ⑨ "Meidang", "Uti", and "Udon" all come from Greek, meaning: "nothing, nothingness, emptiness." ⑩ "Relasin" means "ridiculous", and can also be interpreted as "Laughing People's Country". People in this place just laugh and do nothing else. They replied in unison: "My lord, it goes without saying, you just have to trust us and your own fingers." Paiguguay said: "There is only one thing that makes me worry and hesitate, that is, I don't know what kind of deployment and how much the enemy who besieged the city has adopted, because only after knowing it, can I go forward boldly. Therefore, We have to figure out how to find out together.” After hearing what he said, everyone replied together: "You wait here, let us go and have a look first, within a day, no matter what, we will definitely be able to bring back news." Banurge said: "I can pass through their guard posts, sneak into their camps, eat their food, and play with them without being noticed by anyone. I can observe their artillery positions and inspect the barracks of all the officers. Stay comfortably in their ranks, and no one will recognize me. Not even the ghosts can catch me, for I am a descendant of Zobirus." Abesdemon said: "I am familiar with all the strategies and achievements of the brave military strategists and strategists of ancient times. I am familiar with the tactics and cunning in the art of war. I will go, even if I am found and recognized, I can Make up a lie for them to make them believe that I escaped by myself, because I am a descendant of Sinon." Osden said: "I can enter their trenches. Although there are guards and patrols, I can still step on their stomachs and break their arms and legs. Even if they are as strong as ghosts, they can't stop me. For I am a descendant of Hercules." Gabalin said: "As long as the birds can pass, I can pass, because I have practiced light kung fu. They haven't found me yet, but I have already jumped over their trenches and crossed their camps. Not afraid of the shot, nor the bow, nor the horse, no matter how fast they come, even Berseus, Pegasus, and even Bagore, I will return safely before them. I can on the ears, and on the grass without bending them, for I am a descendant of Camilius, the warrior woman." ① See Erasmus' Proverbs, Volume I, Chapter 8, Section 44. ② Zobirus: In the sixth century BC, the Persians cut off their noses and ears and feigned surrender to the Babylonians. As a result, they gained trust and successfully instigated rebellion.See Book VIII of Herodotus' Histories. ③ Xinong: A famous Greek general who persuaded the Trojans to let the wooden horse enter the city, and there were Greek soldiers hidden in the horse.See from line 57 onwards of the second volume of Virgil's "Init". ① Berseus: The name of the general in mythology, the son of Jupiter. ② Pegasus: Pegasus in mythology, Berseus beheaded Medusa, and Pegasus came out of her blood. ③ Bagaolei: It is the name of a dwarf who used to make a fake horse out of wood, which galloped like flying.Here the author uses Bagaolei as the name of a horse. ④ Camilius: The heroine in Virgil's "Init", who is as light as a swallow, can walk on the ears of wheat without bending; see "Init", Volume VII, 808, 8 ○ Nine rows.