This applet lets you decode a secret message by guessing the key. It's the cipher applet made into a game. In this case, you're given the cipher and need to guess the key. I've set it to go ahead and show the first letter of his name. The key is the author of this quote and he's sometimes called the Bard (google "bard" if you can't think of the greatest English playwright of all time). For an easier challenge, check out Secret Message II.
Here's what you do:
If the cursor is not already in the "cipher key" field, click in it.
Enter a letter.
You can click the "Decode" button but it's faster to just hit the
enter (return) key on your keyboard.
The original coded message will be processed with this cipher key. If the letter
is right, you will be able to read more of it than you could before.
The "Auto correct key?" is checked to make guessing quicker. It removes
wrong letters you've tried from the key after they're used for decoding. If
you uncheck it, you'll have to backspace to remove bad guesses.
The "Reveal a letter" button will give the next correct letter in
the cipher key.
The "Reset" button just sets everything back to the way it was when
the page was first loaded (without the wait).
See how many letters of the cipher key you need before you recognize the message. Good luck.