The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-03-13
THE ADVENTURE
~. OF rHn
NOBLE BACHELOR.

osryrsM. 1898. b o~s. DcysA

Lord Robert st. 6imon's marriage and its ouri.
Gus termination have long ceased TO be q sub
feet Of interest in those exalted circles in
which the unfortunate bridegroom moves.
Fresh scandals have collapsed It. and their
more piquant details have drawn the gossips
away from this fout-yesr-old drama As
baYaIeason to believe, however, that the full
4Acts have never been,revealed to the general
juAAS pnd As my friend. Sherlock Holmes.
HID hobnsiderable share IN clearing the mat
thsun, Ifeel that NO memoir Of him would be
somplsts without some little sketch Of this
remarkable episode
II was few weeks before my own marriage
during the days whom I was still sharing
rooms with Holmes in Baker street. that he
came home from an afternoon stroll to ind .
lsttef On the table waiting for him. I had re-
uaaAed indoors all day Tor the weather had
tAken sudden turn to rain. with high au-
tumnal winds. and tho Jezail bullet which
had brought back In ono Of my limbs as
relic OF my Afghan cam psiEn throbbed with
dull persistency With my body In ons easy
. chair. and my legs upon another. i had sur
rounded myself with cloud Of newspapers.
until at last. saturated with the news OF tho
-, day. I tossed them all aside and lay watch-
ing the huge crest and monogram upon
the envelope upon the table. and wondering
taztly who my friends noble correspondent
could be.
Here Is . very fashionable epistle." I 70.
marked as he entered. your morning letters.
II remember right were from ishmonger
Ind . tide waiter."
Eyes. my correspondence has certainly the
charm Of variety" he answered. smiling
And tn humber are usually the moro inter-
esting This looks like one Of those unwel-
como social summons which call upon man
either to be bored or to lie" He broke the
seal and glanced over the contents. "Oh.
, come. It may prove to be something OF inter-
est after ALL"
:" Not social. then1"
q No. distinctly professional"
And from noble olientf"
Ono Of the highest In England"
My dear fellow. congratulate you"
'""I assure you. Watson. without affectation.
that the status Of my client Is matter Of less
moment to me than the interest Of his case It
Is Just possible. however. that that also may
not be wanting In this new Investigation. You
nave been reading the papers diligently Of late.
have you notr'
It looks like IT," said l. ruefully. pointing
to huge bundle In the corner. II have had
nothing else to do"
e It is fortunate. for you will perhaps be able
% post me up. read nothing except the GRIM
NAL news. and the agony column The latter
IL always Instructive. But II you have follow
Cd recent events so closely you must have read
shout Lord Robert st. Simon and his wedding"
"Oh yes. with the deepest interest"
THAT is WE'LL Tho letter which hold Is
from Lord Robert st. Simon. I will read 1t to
you. and in return you must turn over these
papers and let me have whatever bears upon
the matter. This is what he says:
Mr. prAn Nj. SHERLOCK HoLxrs: Lord Baekwa.sr tells
mo that may place implicit reliance upon your judy
msnt and discretion. Ihave determined therefore to
al and fN~ sult In 10 thA
very painful event which has occurred in connection
with my wedding. Mr.. Lestrade Of Scotland Yard 10
acting already In the matter but he assures that no
sees objection to cooperation and that he
thinks that 1t might be OF assurance viii call
At% O'Clock In tho afternoon and should you Have any
ether engagement at thss time hope that you viii
oahponsi It, ths fn4tteris Of ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
(! .4ours faithfully. ~ Rossn 81: srnoA
:. 1T is dated from Grosvener Mansions. writ
ten with quill pen. and the noble Lord has
had the misfortune to get q smear Of ink upon
the outer side Of his right little finger" re-
marked Holmes. as he folded up the epistle.
W SsHs says O'Clock. 1tis3 now. He will DO
here In an hour" ~. .n.eg .G2 800
Il Then have Just time. with your assist-
Ance, to get clear upon the subject. Turn
over those papers and arrange the extracts In
their order OF time, while take glance as to
who our client Is" He picked red-covered
volume from line OF books of reference be-
side the mantelplece. Here he is" said he.
sitting down and fattening it out upon his
knea Lord Robert WalsinRham de We're St
.6imop. second son OF tho Duke OF Balmoral-
Hum Arms: Azure. three caltrops In chief
over Tess sable. Born In '46. He's Al years
aof age which Is mature for marriage. Was
Under Secretary for the Colonies in late Ad-
ministration. The Duke his father. was at
one time Secretary for Foreign Affairs. They
inherit Plantagenet blood by direct descent.
and Tudor on the distaff side Hal Well.
there Is nothing very instructive in all this.
think that must turn to- you. Watson. for
something moro solid" r.... .,-
~ =" havo very little difficulty In finding what
* want said l. 'for tho facts are recent, and the
/: matter struck me as remarkable feared to
refer them to you. however. as knew that
you had an inquiry on hand. and that you dis
liked the intrusion OF other matters."
"Oh. you mean the little problem OF the
fGrosvener square furniture van. That Is quite
cleared up now-though. indeed. 1t was OBJ
vious from the first. Pray give mo the Results
= OF your newspaper selections"
Here Is the first notice which can find. It
:: II In tho personal column Of the Morning Post,
and dates. as you see. somo weeks back. A
marriage has boon. arranged 1t says. and
will. II rumor Is correct very shortly take place
between Lord Robert St Simon. second son OF
2 the Duke Of Balmoral. and Miss Hatty Doran.
tho only daughter Of Aioysius Dorsn. Esq. OF
San Francisco. Cal, U. 8. A. That is ALL"
x Tsrse and to the point" remarked Holmes,
stretching his long. thin legs toward the FIRE.
Z + There was paragraph simplifying this In
one Of the society papers OF the same week.
An. here 1t IL! There will soon DO call for
:, projection In the marriaRe market. for the
y present free-trade principle appears to tell
heavily against our home product. Ono by
.She therm snsgement Of the noble houses OF
Greet, Britain Is passing into the hands Of
our fair cousins from across the Atlantic. An
IMPORTANT addition has been made during the
iAst week to the list Of the prizes which have
> been borne sWsyby these charming invaders.
Aosd Robert 81 Simon. who has been for
ysS twenty years! psopf against the little gods
4 erkpWs., has, now definitely announced
his Approaching marriage with Miss Hat
" Dorau. the fascinating daughter Of
A,3 Californian millionaire Miss Do