The Test of T.P. James: Treasure on The Retreat Trails.

People who have read this column know about the University of Brattleboro, the oldest non-existent University in New England. They also know the university has long claimed to have the journals and notebooks of T. P. James, who became famous by claiming that he could talk to the ghost of Charles Dickens. Dickens was the author of, "A Tale of Two Cities," and many other novels. Dickens died in 1870, while he was in the middle of writing his last novel, "The Mystery of Edwin Drood." James published the ending of "Drood," in 1873. He claimed that Dickens' ghost had told him what to write. Many contemporary writers doubted his claims, but he sold thousands of copies of the work. This week the University of Brattleboro is proud to publish a portion of James' notebook, which may have been discovered in the basement of the Brattleboro Memorial Library. In it, James tells how to find a treasure that is hidden somewhere in Brattleboro. Here is an excerpt from this notebook, dated Sept. 9, 1878: "Hello reader, person unknown. You are reading my notebook. Welcome. Sometimes some people scoff, and give me the doubtful eye, and the cock of the head, to indicate that they believe I am liar, a scoundrel, a cheat, a charlatan over the Drood affair. But I wasn't trying to fool anyone. I was trying to tell them the truth." "Dickens DID tell me the ending of his novel, "The Mystery of Edwin Drood". When I wrote down his words down, people said I was lying, that I never talked to his ghost, and that I was just writing my own ideas and passing them off as his." "So here, I offer proof of my abilities. I am going to make some predictions, and when they come to pass, my power as well as my honesty will be, or should be, beyond reproach." "I offer here a puzzle, one that any person can solve, with enough effort, and most importantly, CURIOSITY. Curiosity is so important in life that it should be honored and valued more than intelligence. Sometimes people think that problem solvers are inherently highly intelligent. I offer the idea that much more importantly, the curious keep trying to find an answer, to find the bit of information that is missing, like a piece of chain, and they keep trying until they find it. Charles Darwin believes that what distinguishes us from monkeys is that we are more intelligent than them. I maintain that even though monkeys are less intelligent than their human cousins, what really distinguishes us from them is our superior curiosity. Mental persistence and joy in learning is what is needed in life, more than smarts." "So, I will tell you, that in the future, more than a hundred years from now, a man will come to Brattleboro. Shortly before the year 2000, he will get off the train here, coming all the way from South Carolina, where he was a college student. He will find a trail on the Brattleboro Retreat lands, that he will decide to bury treasure on, and he will make clues to this treasure hidden in a cryptogram. The treasure will consist of dollar coins with a date AFTER 2000. Once you solve the cryptogram, you will know exactly where to look for this treasure. Plus, even if you don't find the treasure you will get in a nice hike, so, you can't lose." "Why will this man hide treasure in a trail? I commend whoever is reading these words for your CURIOSITY. Would you believe me if I told you that my ghost will talk with him, and ask him to do this thing?" "Whether you believe that I talked with him or not, the proof will lie in there being a treasure at this location. How can you better explain its presence, than my ghost speaking with this man's soul? Of course, detractors might say I could have buried this treasure myself, but HA! I don't have any access to coins dated AFTER the year 2000. So, NO! I could not." "Here is a second proof of my veracity and abilities. When you figure out which symbol stands for the letter Y, that will be an image that is associated best with one and only one trail. That is the trail you want. SINCE I HAVE NO IDEA WHICH TRAIL THIS MAN FROM THE FUTURE WILL PICK, NOR WHAT SYMBOL HE IS USING TO REPRESENT "Y" HOW COULD THIS ALL WORK AS A PUZZLE UNLESS HE AND I WERE IN SPIRITUAL COMMUNICATION? And that being the case, I think anyone who is reasonable will agree that I was indeed in communication with Charles Dickens. Doubt if you will, but I think given these proofs, that would be very stubborn and well, "anti-curious," for lack of a better word. " "I foresee that it is possible that enough people will solve this puzzle and take the dollar coins that will be left at this location. As with romantic love, all treasure hunters should be givers as well as takers. Set out to the woods with an art object of small size, made of wood, stone, metal or glass, and place it in the hiding spot for the next searcher to find. That way, you will be rewarding and nurturing someone else's curiosity, which is always a good thing." "But, how does one solve a cryptogram, a curious person might ask. Here, let me hold your hand, oh friend of the future." "1) E is the most common letter in the English language , followed by T. Is there a symbol that occurs more than the others? Try replacing that symbol with an E. If that doesn't work, try a T. " "2) There are only two words in English which are written with a single letter, namely "A" and "I." Are there any symbols that are single words in the message? Try replacing those symbols with either "A" or "I"? "That should be enough to get you started. With Sincerity and Honesty, T. P. James. " Rolf B. Parker has lived in Brattleboro since late 1999. He runs the "University of Brattleboro." See universityofBrattleboro. com. He sells T-shirts at the Harmony Collective Gallery in Brattleboro, to fund free events. If you find the treasure, please write to him at booksfromvermont@yahoo.com and be sure to attach a picture of it in your email. Please put "TREASURE" in the subject line, or else it will get lost.