set x to ("blah" as Unicode text) & (return as Unicode text) & (linefeed as Unicode text) & "blah"
set scount to count of characters of x
set chr5 to character 5 of x
set id5 to id of character 5 of x
set oldDelims to AppleScript's text item delimiters
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to {linefeed}
set ccount to count of text items of x
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to oldDelims
{scount, chr5, id5, ccount}