Greenfield Evening Republican, Greenfield, Hancock County, 5 February 1895 — Page 4

A STD

By A. COHAN DOYLE.

CHAPTER II.

We met next day as he had arranged and inj)cctc!(l the rooms at 221b Baker 6treet, of which ho had spoken at our meeting. They consisted of a couple of comfortable bedrooms and a single large, airy sitting room, cheerfully furnished and illuminated by two broad windows. So desirable in every way were the apartments, and so moderate did the terms seem when divided between us that the bargain was concluded upon the spot, and we at once entered into possession. That very evening I moved my things round from the hotel, and on the following morning Sherlock Holmes followed mu with several boxes and portmanteaus. For a day or two we were busily employed in unpacking and laying out our property to the best advantage. That done, wo gradually began to settle down and to accommodate ourselves to our new surroundings.

Holmes was certainly not a difficult man to live with. He was quiet in his ways, and his habits were regular. It was ram for him to be up after 10 at night, and he had invariably breakfasted and gone out before I rose in the morning. Sometimes he spent his day at the chemical laboratory, sometimes in the dissecting rooms, and occasionally in long walks, which appeared to tak» him into the lowest portions of the city. Nothing could exceed his energy when the working fit was upon him, but now and again a reaction would seize him, and for days on end he would lie upon tho sofa in the sitting room, hardly uttering a word or moving a musclo from morning to night. On these occasions I have noticed such a dreamy, vacant expression in his eyes that I might have suspected him of being addicted to the use of some narcotic had not the temperance and cleanliness of his whole life forbidden such a notion.

As the weeks went by my interest in him and my curiosity as to his aims in life gradually deepened and increased. His very person and appearance were such as to strike tho attention of tho most casual observer. In height ho was rather over (i feet, and so excessively lean that he seemed to be considerably taller. His eyes were sharp and piercing, save during those intervals of torpor to which I have alluded, and his thin, hawkliko nose gave his whole expression an air of alertness and decision. His chin, too, had the prominence and squareness which mark the man of determination. His hands were invariably blotted with ink and stained with chemicals, yet he was possessed of extraordinary delicacy of touch, as I frequently had occasion to observe when I watched him manipulating his fragile philosophical instruments.

The reader may set me down as a hopeless busybody when I confess how much this man stimulated my curiosity and how often I endeavored to break through the reticence which he showed on all that concerned himself. Before pronouncing judgment, however, bo it remembered how objectless was my life and how littlo there was to engago my attention. My health forbado 1110 from venturing out unless tho weather was exceptionally genial, and I had no friends who would call upon mo and break tho monotony of my daily existence. Under theso circumstances I eagerly hailed the little mystery which hung around my companion and spent much of my time in endeavoring to unravel it.

Ho was not studying medicine. He had himself, in reply to a question, confirmed Stamford's opinion upon that point. Neither did he appear to have pursued any course of reading which might fit him for a degreo in scienco or any other recognized portal which would give him an entranco into tho learned "world. Yet his zeal for certain studies •was remarkable, and within eccentric limits his knowledge was so extraordinarily ample and minute that his observations liavo fairly astounded me. Sure ly no man would work so hard to attain such precise information unless ho had some definite end in view. Desultory readers aro seldom remarkablo for tho exactness of their learning. No man burdens his mind with small matters unless he has some very good reason for doing so.

His ignoranco was as remarkable as his knowledge. Of contemporary literature, philosophy and politics ho appeared to know next to nothing. Upon my quoting Thomas Carlylo he inquired in the naivefct way who he might bo and •what ho had done. My surprise reached a climax, however, when I found incidentally that he was ignorant of the Copernican theory and of the composition of the solar system. That any civilized human being in this nineteenth century should not bo aware that tho earth traveled round the sun appeared to be to mo such an extraordinary fact that I could hardly realizo it. "You appear to bo astonished," ho said, smiling at my expression of surprise. "Now that I do know it I shall do my best to forget it. "To forget it 1" "You see, ho explained, "I consider that a man's brain originally is liko a little empty attic, and you havoto Btock it with such furnituro as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that tho knowledge which might bo useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things, so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it. Now, the skillful workman is very careful indeed as to what ho takes into his brain attic. Ho will havo nothing but tho tools which may help him in doing his work, but of theso ho has a largo assortment, and all in tho most perfect order. It is a mistake to think that that little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent. Depend vpon it, thero comes a timo when for •very addition of knowledge you forgot •omething that you knew before. It is tho highest importance, therefore, not

10 have useiess tacts elDowing out fno useful ones." "But the solar system!" I protested. "What tho deuce is it to me?" he interrupted impatiently. "You say that we go round the sun. If we went round the moon, it would not make a pennyworth of difference to me or to my work."

I was on tho point of asking him what that work might be, but something in his manner showed me that the question would be an unwelcome one. I pondered over our short conversation, however, and endeavored to draw my deductions from it. He said that he would acquire no knowledge which did not bear upon his object. Therefore all the knowledge which he possessed was such as would be useful to him. I enumerated in my own mind all the various points upon which he had shown me that he was exceptionally well informed. I even took a pencil and jotted them down. I could not help smiling at the document when I had completed it. It ran in this way:

SHERLOCK HOLMES—HIS LIMITS. 1. Knowledge of Literature.—Nil. 2. Knowledge of Philosophy.—Nil. 3. Knowledge of Astronomy.—Nil. 4. Knowledge of Politics.—Feeble. 5. Knowledge of Botany: Variable. Well up in belladonna, opium and poisons generally. Knows nothing of practical gardening. 6. Knowledge of Geology.—Practical, but limited. Tells at a glance different soils from each other. After walks has shown mo splashes upon his trousers, and told by their color and consistence in what part of London he had received them. 7. Knowledgo of Chemistry.—Profound. 8. Knowledge of Anatomy.—Accurate, but unsystematic. 9. Knowledge of Sensational Literature.—Immense. Ho appears to know every detail of every horror perpetrated in tho century. 10. Plays the violin well. 11. Is an expert single stick player, boxer and swordsman. 12. Has a good practical knowledge Of British law.

When I had got so far in my list, I threw it into the fire in despair. "If I can only find what tho fellow is driving at by reconciling all theso accomplishments and discovering a calling which needs them all," I said to myself, "I may as well give up the attempt at once."

I see that I have alluded above to his powers upon the violin. Theso were very remarkable, but as eccentric as all his other accomplishments. That ho could play pieces, and difficult pieces, I knew well, because at my request he has played mosomo of Mendelssohn's "Lieder" and other favorites.

When left to himself, however, he would seldom produce any music or attempt any recognized air. Leaning back in his armchair of an evening, ho would close his eyes and scrapo carelessly at the fiddle, which was thrown across his kneo. Sometimes tho chords were sonorous and melancholy. Occasionally they were fantastic and cheerful. Clearly they reflected the thoughts which possessed him, but whether the music aided thoso thoughts or whether tho playing was simply tho result of a whim or fancy was moro than I could determine. I might have rebelled against theso exasperating solos had it not been that ho usually terminated them by playing in quick succession a whole series of my favorite airs as a slight compensation for tho trial upon my patience.

During the first week or so we had 110 callers, and I had begun to think that my companion was as friendless a man as I was myself. Presently, however, I found that ho had many acquaintances and those in the most different classes of society. Thero was 0110 little, sallow, rat faced, dark eyed fellow who was introduced to me as Mr. Lestrade, and who camo threo or four times in a single week. Ono morning a young girl called, fashionably dressed, and staid for half an hour or moro. Tho same afternoon brought a gray headed, seedy visitor, looking liko a Jew peddler, who appeared to mo to bo much excited, and who was closely followed by a slipshod elderly woman. On another occasion an old white haired gentleman had an interview with my companion, and on another a railway porter in his velveteen uniform. When any of these nondescript individuals put in an appearance, Sherlock Holmes used to beg for the use of the sitting room, and I would retire to my bedroom. Ho always apologized to mo for putting me to this inconvenience. "I have to use this room as a place of business," he said, "and theso people are my clients. Again I had an opportunity of asking him a point blank question, and again my delicacy prevented me from forcing another man to confide in me. I imagined at the time that he had some strong reason for not alluding to it, but ho soon dispelled the idea by coming round to tho subject of his own accord.

It was upon the 4th of March, as I have good reason to remember, that I rose somewhat earlier than usual and found that Sherlock Holmes had not yet finished his breakfast. The landlady had becomo so accustomod to my late habits that my placo had not been laid nor my coffeo prepared. With the unreasonable petulance of mankind I rang the bell and gavo a curt intimation that I was ready. Then I picked up a magazine from tho tablo and attemped to while away tho timo with it, whilo my companion munched silently at his toast. One of tho articles had a poncil mark at tho heading, and I naturally began to run my eyo through it.

Its somewhat ambitious titlo was "The Book of Life, and it attempted to show how much an observant man might loarn by an accurate and systematic examination of all that came in his way. It struck mo as being a remarkable mixture of shrewdness and of absurdity. The reasoning was close and intense, but the deductions appeared to me to be farfetched and exaggerated. The writer claimed by a momentary expressioUj_ a twitch of. a muscle or a glance

oT an eyo to fathom a manV inmost thoughts. Deceit, according to him, was an impossibility in tho case of one trained to observation and analysis. His conclusions were as infallible as so many propositions of Euclid. So startling would his results appear to the uninitiated that until they learned the processes by which he had arrived at them they might well consider him as a necromancer.' "From a drop of water," said tho writer, "a logician could infer the possibility of an Atlantic or a Niagara without having seen or heard of one or the other. So all life is a great chain, the nature of which is known whenever we are shown a single link of it. Like all other arts, the science of deduction and analysis is one which can only be acquired by long and patient study, nor is lifo long enough to allow any mortal to attain the highest possible perfection in it. Before turning to those moral and mental aspects of the matter which present the greatest difficulties let the inquirer begin by mastering more elementary problems. Let him, on meeting a fe'low mortal, learn at a glance to distinguish the history of the man and the trade or profession to which he belongs. Puerile as such an exercise may seem, it sharpens the faculties of observation and teaches one where to look and what to look for. By a man's finger nails, by his boot, by his trouser knees, by the callosities of his forefinger and thumb, by his expression, by his shirt cuffs—by each of these things a man's calling is plainly revealed. That all united should fail to enlighten tho competent inquirer in any caso is almost inconceivable." "What ineffable twaddle!" I cried, slapping the magazine down on the table. "I never read such rubbish in my life." "What is it?" asked Sherlock Holmes. "Why, this article," I said, pointing at it with my egg spoon as I sat down to my breakfast. "I seo that you have read it, since you have marked it. I don't deny that it is smartly written. It irritates me, though. It is evidently the theory of somo armchair lounger who evolves all these neat little paradoxes in tho seclusion of his own study. It is not practical. I should like to see him clapped down in a third class carriage on the Underground and asked to give the trades of all his fellow travelers. I would lay a thousand to ono against him. "You would loso your money, Sherlock Holmes remarked calmly. "As for the article, I wrote it myself. "You!" "Yes, I have a turn both for observa tion and for deduction. The theories which I liav© expressed there, and which appear to you to be so chimerical, are really extremely practical, so practical that I depend upon them for my bread and cheeso.'' "And how?" I asked involuntarily. "Well, I have a trade of my own. I suppose I am the only ono in the world. I am a consulting detective, if you can understand what that is. Here in London we havo lots of government detectives and lots of private onea When these fellows are at fault, they come to me, and I manago to put them on the right scent. They lay all the evidence before me, and I am generally able, by tho help of my knowledgo of the history of crime, to set them straight. Thero is a strong family resemblance about misdeeds, and if you havo all the details of a thousand at your finger ends it is odd if you can't unravel tho thousand and first. Lestrade is a well known detective. He got himself into a fog recently over a forgery case, and that was what brought him here. "And these other people?"

«V'

9

"They are mostly sent out by private inquiry agencies. They aro all people who aro in trouble about something and want a littlo enlightening. I listen to their story, they listen to my comments, and then I pocket my fee. "But do you mean to say," I said, "that without leaving your room you can unravel somo knot which other men can mako nothing of, although they have seen every detail for themselves?" "Quito so. I have a kind of intuition that way. Now and again a case turns up which is a little more complex. Then I havo to bustlo about and see things with my own eyes. You see, I have a lot of special knowledge whioh I apply to the problem and which facilitates matters wonderfully. Those rules of deduction laid down in thatarticlo which aroused your scorn are invaluablo to me in practical work. Observation with mo is second nature. You appeared to bo surprised when I told you, on our first meeting, that you had come from Afghanistan. "You were told, no doubt." "Nothing of the sort. I knew you came from Afghanistan. From long habit the train of thought ran so swiftly through my mind that I arrived at tho conclusion without being conscious of intermediate steps. There were such steps, however. The train of reasoning ran: 'Here is a gentleman of a medical type, but with the air of a military man, clearly an army doctor, then. Ho has just come from the tropics, for" his face is dark, and that is not the natural tint of his skin, for his wrists are fair. He has undergone hardship and siokness, as his haggard face says clearly. His left arm has been injured. Ho holds it in a stiff and unnatural manner. Where in the tropics could an English army doctor have seen much hardship and got his arm wounded? Clearly in Afghanistan.' The whole train of thought did not occupy a second. I then remarked that you camo from Afghanistan, and you wore astonished." (T »E CONTINUED.]

Will Adjourn on Time.

CHARLESTON, W. Va., Feb. 5.—It is almost certain that the legislature will adjourn at the expiration of the constitutional limit of 45 days. This is tho intention, and all the members are working fcard to that end. It is the Re-

Sicate

ublicau program and the Democrats iuno intention to obstruct.

jl Study in

And the tale where

SCARLET" will begin in the

Dr, A. Oonan Doyle's First Detective Story

SHERLOCK HOLMES:

Sherlock Holmes—His Limits.

1. Knowledge of Literature—Nil, 2. Knowledge of Philosophy—Nil 3. Knowledge of Astronomy—Nil. 4. Knowledge of Politics—Feeble. 5. Knowledge of Botany—Variable. Well up in bellaclouna, opium and poisons gererally. Knows nothing of practical gardening. 6. Knowledge of Geology—Practical, but limited. Tells at a glance different soil* from each other. After walks has shown me splashes on his trousers, and told me by their color and consistence in what part of London he had received tbem. 7. Knowledge of Chemistry—Profound. ', 8. Knowledge of Anatomy—Accurate, but unsystematic. 9. Knawledge of Sensational Literature—Immense. He seems to know ever detail of every horror perpetrated in the century. 10. Plays the violin well. 11. Is an expert single stick player, boxer and swordsman. 12. Has a good practical knowledge of British law.

Rut the fame of "A Study in Scarlet" rest and its

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Journal and Republican, News and Republican,

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SA LITERARY CURIOSITY alone "A Study in Scarlet" possesses extraordinary interest at this time, when Slierlock Holmes stands as the

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a tective in all English fiction and one of the greatest favorites ever introduced to rove[ readers. Sherlock Holmes makes his first appearance in "A Study of Sear let/' and the accomplishments of the 1 great Analyst are thus analyzed in the second chapter:

It is one of the most absorbing detective stories ever writt( England by storm when the book was first published in that country a few years "ago, and that is why it is peculiarly adapted for serial publication in this country now. "A STUDY

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Being the adventures of

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DETECTIVE

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