The news & observer., 1905-12-17

my dear fellow" said Sherlock
Holmes, as we sat on either side OF
the fire in his lodgings at Baker street.
life is infinitely stranger than any
thing which the mind of man could
invent. We should not dare 10
conceive the things which are really
mere common places of existence. If
we could f1y out of that window hand
i'm hand, hover over this great city,
gently move the roofs, and peep in
at the queer things which are going
on, the strange condolences, the plan
nings, the cross purposes, the wonder
full chain Of events, working through
generations and leading to the most
outre results ii would make all fic-
ron with its conventionalitaes and
foreseen conclusions most stale and
improbable"
And vet | am not convinced of it,,
| answered. ''The cases which come
TO light i'm the papers are, as IL rule,
bald enough and vulgar enough. We
have in our police reports realism
pushed to its extreme limits, and yet
the result is, it must be confessed.
neither fascinating nor artistic
"A certain selection and discretion
must be used in producing a realistic
effect" remarked Holmes. This Is
wanting i'm the police report, where
more stress is laid, perhaps, upon
the platitudes of the magistrate than
upon the details, which to an OBJ
server contain the vital essence of the
whole matter. Depend upon it there
is nothing so unnatural as the COM
Inonplace."
] smiled and shook my head. Il
can quite understand You thinking so,
said L. "Of course, in your position
of unofficial adviser and helper to
everybody who is absolutely puzzled.
throughout three continents. you are
brought i'm contact with all that is
strange and bizarre. But here
picked up the morning paper from
the ground--''let us put it to a prac-
teal test. Here is the first heading
uppn which / come. a husbands $
cruelty 20 his wife There is half
q column of print. but ! know with
out reading it that ii is all perfectly
familiar to me. There is, of course,
the other woman, the drink, the push.
the blow. the bruise. the sympathetic
sister or landlady The crudest of
writer's could invent nothing more
crude"
Indeed, your example is an unfor-
tunate one for your argument said
Homes. taking the paper and glanc-
ing his eye down ii. This is the
Dundas separation case and, as it
happens l was engaged in clearing
up some small points in connection
with it, The husband was teetotaler,
there was no other woman, and the
conduct complained OF was that he
had drifted into the habit of winding
up every meal by taking out his false
teeth and hurting them at his wife,
which, you will allow, is not an ac-
ton likely to occur to the imagina-
ton of the average story-teller. Take
a pinch of snuff. doctor. and acknowl-
edge that / have scored over you in
your example"
He held out his snuff-box of old
gold. with a great amethyst in the
center of the lid. Its splendor was
in such contrast to his homely ways
and simple life that 1 could not help
commenting upon it.
"Ah." said he. II forgot that
had not seen you for some weeks. 1t
is a little souvenir from the King of
Bohemia in return for my assistance
in the case of the Irene Adler pa
pers."
''And the ring?" 1 asked. glancing
at a remarkable brilliant which spark
led upon his finger.
'sIt was from the reigning family
i'm Holland, though the matter in
which I served them was of such del
icacy that | cannot contlde it even
to you, who have been good enough
TO chronicle one or two of my little
problems"
And have you any on hand just
now?" / asked. with interest.
"Some ten or twelve, but none
which present any feature of interest.
They are important, you understand.
without being interesting. Indeed, L
have found that it is usually in unim-
portant matters that there is field
for the observation, and for the quick
analysis of cause and effect which
gives the charm to an investigation.
The larger crimes are apt to be the
simpler. for the bigger the crime,
the more obvious, as rule, is the mo-
tive. In these cases, save for one
rather intricate matter which has been
referred to me from MarseilleS, there
is nothing which presents any features
of interest 1t is possible, however
that / may have something better be-
fore very many minutes are over, for