The San Francisco call., 1905-03-26

and Corners Weekiy.)
Copyright, 1905. by Mcclure. Phillips
& CD
~ RON the years 1894 TO 1901 in
II elusive. Mr.. Sherlock Holmes
y was q very busy man. II is safe
to say that there was no public
case OF any difficulty in which
he was not consulted during those
eight years. and there were hundreds
of private cases. some OF them Of the
most intricate and extraordinary chat
a-cter, In which he PLAYED a prominent
part Many startling successes and a
few unavoids bic failures were the out
come OF this long period of continuous
work AS / have preserved very full
notes Of all these cases and was my
self personally engaged in many OF
them, il may be imagined that II Is no
easy task to know which l should Sc
lect 10 lay before the public. I shall,
however, preserve my former rule ana
give the preference to those cases
which derive their interest net so much
from the brutality Of the crime as from
the ingenuity and dramatic quality OF
the solution. For this reason l VIII
now lay before the reader the facts
connected with Miss Violet Smith the
HOilLaTT CNEllSL CT lHdI-lA6 rAlA %aAO
curious sequel OF our investigation,
which eliminated in unexpected trag-
edy. II is true-tbat the circumstance
did not admit of anX striking lllustra-
tiOn Of those powers for which my
friend Ras famous, but there We're
some points about the case which made
IT stand out in those long records Oh
crime from which I gather the ma
teriaI for these little narratives.
70, rnfa-hnOK Tor the
wear 1895 I find that it was upon Sat
urday, the 2Srd Of April, that we nrst
heard Of Miss Violet Smith. Her vlsil
vas remember, extremely unWeicoIne
TO Holmes. for he was immersed at the
moment in a very abstruse and COM
plieated problem concerning the pecu-
liar persecution to which John Vincent
Harden, the weil-known tobacco mil
lionsire had besu subjected. My
friend. who loved above all things pre-
cision and concentration of thought, re-
sented anything which distracted his
attention from the matter in hand.
And yet. without a harshness which
vas foreign TO his nature, IL was inl-
possible 70 refuse TO listen TO the story
Of the young and beautiful woman, tall,
graceful and queenly, who presented
herself at Baker street late in the
evening and implored his assistance
and advice. Il was vain TO urge that
hrs time was already fully occupied,
Tor the young lady had come with the
determination TO tell her story, and 1t
vas evident that nothing short OF force
could get her out of the room until
she had done so. With a resigned air
ana somewhat weary smile Holmes
begged the beautiful intruder to take
a seat and TO inform US what II was
that was troubling her.
AT least it cannot be your health,
said he. as his keen eyes darted over
her so ardent q bicyclist must be
full Of energy.
She glanced down in surprise at her
own feet and I observed the slight
roupbenfne OF the side Of the sole
csused by the friction of the edge of
ives. bicycle a good deal, Mr..
Holmes. and that has something to do
with nv visit to you to-day
Nv friend took the lady's unRloved
hand. and examined it with as close
an attention an as little sentiment as
: scientist would show TO a specimen.
..You will excuse me. am sure. 1t
IS nv business" said he. as he dropped
II. Il nearly fell into the error OF sup
posing that you were typewriting. or
course. II is obvious that it is music.
You observe the spatulate hnger-ends,
Watson. which is common to both pro-
LESSONS? There is spirituality ABOUT
the face, however''-she gently turned
It toward the light-"which the type.
writer does not generate This lady is
q musician"
Yes, Mr.. Holmes. teach music"
In the country, / presume, from
your complexion. - -.-.----s--- .-s..- :.
Yes. sir, near Farnham. on the bor-
ders Of Surrey"
"A beautiful neighborhood. and full
OF the most interesting associations.
You remember. Watson. that 1T was
near there that we took Archie Stam-