Waterbury evening Democrat., 1895-02-02

other arts, the science of deduction and analysis is one which can only be ac- quired by long and patient study. nor k life long enough to allow any mortal to attain the highest possible perfection in IL Before turning to those moral and mental aspects of the matter which pre- sent the greatest difficulties let the in quirer begin by mastering more rlemen- tary problems Let him, un meeting a fellow mortal, learn at glance to dis. tingui>h the history of the man and inc trade or profession tu which he belongs Pu'rllv a> such an cN,rcISc may seem, it shaI pt nS the faculties uf ub>rrVatlun and teaches one where tu louk ana N hat 10 look for By man . finger nails by his b"ut. hy his truustr kntc>. hv the callO>itic> of his frrvfingcr and thumb, by bis ,XpresSion. hy his shirt cutf>-hy zach "t these things a II. ans calling is plainly revealed. That all united should fail 10 enltghten tc" comp,tent inquirer in any case Is alme [ ruct receivable.
 "What ipetfaLu IW..uuiu' l cried slapping the uI-...u.>: down ou the table "lnever re,,.. sch rublj-h i.1 my life
 w hat is it." asked Sherlock Holmes
 Why, this article. l said, pointing at it with my egg spoon as l sat down to my breakfast, T src that you have read it, since you have marked il. l don't deny that il + >martly written. It irritateS me, though IL k evidently the theory of som" armchair lounSer who evolves all these nrIt little paradoXes in the SecluSion of hl< own study IL Is not practical, 1 should like to Sec him clap ped down m a third class carriage on the Underground and asked to give the trades of all his fellow travellers would lay thousand to one against him
 You would lose your muney, Shcr- lock Holmes remarked calmly As for the article, l wrote II myself
 You"
 Yes, have turn both for observa- tiun and for dCiucuon Tho theories which have expressed there and which appear to you to he >o chlmerical, are really extremely practical. so practical that depend upon them for my bread and cheCso
 And how: 1 asked involumtatily
 Well. have n trade Ct my own. suppose l am the only ono in the world. 1 am consulting detective. If you can understand what that k Hcru in Lon don we have lots of government detect, ives and lots of private ones. When these fellows are at fault. they come to me, and manage to put them on the righ1 scent They lay all the evidence before ne, and nm generally able, by the help of my knowledge of the history of crime. to sCt them straight. There is a strong family resemblance about nis. deeds. and if you have all the details of a thousand at your finger ends it is odd if you cant unravcl the thousand and first, Lestradc is we'll known detect i've, He got himself into fog recently over forgery case. and that was what brought him here. -
 And these other people:"
 They arr mostly sent out by private inquiry agencies They are all people who are in trouble about something and want IItlc enlightening. 1 listen to their story, they listen to my comments. and then pocket my foe. ''
 But do you mean to say, " said. "that without leaving your room you can unravel some knot which other men can make nothing of, although they have seen every detail for themselves:'
 Quite SO have kind of intuition that way. Now and again a case turns up which is little more complex. Then I havo to bustle about and sec things with my own eyes. You see, have lot of special knowledge which apply to the problem and which facilitates matters wonderfully Those rules of de duction laid down in that article which aroused your scorn are invaluable to me in practical work. Observation with me is second nature. You appeared to be surprised when told you. on our first meeting. that you had come from AT. ghanistan.
 ''You were told, no doubt.
 Nothing ot the sort. knew you came from Afghanistan. From long habit the train of thought ran sO swift ly through my mind that 1 arrived at the conclusiulA without being conss sious of intermediate steps There were such steps, however The train of reasoning ran: Here :s gentleman of medical type, but with the air of military man. clearly an army doctor. then. He 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 sickness, as his haggard face says clearly. His left arfu has been injured. He holds it in a