Excerpt from Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series: Of the Reigns of Elizabeth, 1591 1594, Preserved in Her Majesty's Public Record Office

Among the most remarkable papers in the present volume are the intelligence letters written by or to Thos. Phelippes, the decipherer. This man, known to the historical student as the decipherer of the papers connected with Babington sconspiracy (and, as believed by many, the fabricator of some of those most deeply implicating the Queen of Scots), had received, in reward of sundry similar services, the office of customer in the Port of London. His place afforded him facilities for the reception and transmission of lettersPart of his correspondence he made a merit of communicating to the Grovemment, but the more important portion consists of his private papers, seized doubtless when he himself got into trouble in the early part of the reign of James I. These are drafts of letters written by him to persons abroad, or by him for other persons, giving such minute details of the proceedings at Court as it was easy for him, through his acquaintance with the Earl of Essex and Sir Rob. Cecil, to obtain see pp. 21, 38, 47, 64, 74, 97, 117, 309, 314, 328, 341, 353, 358, 360, 369, 419).The papers are sometimes partially in cipher, not deciphered, but decipherable, sometimes in cipher which has baffled all efforts to imravel it, chiefly see pp. 229, 291, 368, ) whjere conventional, generally mercantile terms are used as a mask to disguise political intelligence, and are to be understood according to an arrangement concerted between the correspondents. A curious instance of this doubleentendrej the most difficult of all possible forms of cipher, may be found on p.459.

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