The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-04-02

N abled him to keep in touch
with all that was going on
at the police headquarters.
IN return for the news which Lestrade
would bring, Holmes was always READY
to listen with attention to the details
of any case upon which the detective
was engaged, and was able OCCASION
ally, without any active interference
to give some hint or suggestion drawn
from his own vast knowledge and ex-
perienee.
On this particular evening Lestrade
had spoken of the weather and the
newspapers. Then he had fallen silent,
putting thoughtfully at his cigar.
Holmes looked keenly at him.
Anything remarkable on handr' he
asked.
"Oh, no, Mr.. Holmes-nothing very
particular"
Then tell me about It."
Lestrade laughed.
well, Mr.. Holmes, there Is no use
denying that there is something on
my mind. And yet 1t Is such an alb
surd business that / hesitated to bother
you about It, On the other hand, al
though 1t is trivial, 1t is undoubtedly
queer, and know that you have
taste for all that Is out of the common.
But, In my opinion, it comes more In
DIR. Watsons line than ours"
.'Disease?" said |.
Madness, anyhow. And queer
madness, too. You wouldn't think
there was anyone living at this time
of day who had such hatred Of Ma
poleon the First that he would break
any image OF him that he could see
Holmes sank hack in his chair.
That's no business of mine," said
he.
Exactly. That's what I said But
then, when the man commits burglary
in order to break images which are not
his own. that brings 1t away from the
doctor and on to the policeman"
Holmes sat up again.
Burglary, This is more interesting.
Let me hear the details"
Lestrade took out LIS official note
book, and refreshed his memory from
its pages.
1.-The first case reported was four
days ago." said he. 1t was at the shop
OF Morse I<udson who has place for
the sale of pictures and statues in the
the Remington Road. The assistant
had left the front shop for an instant,
when he heard a crash, and hurrying
leon. which stood with several other
works of art upon the counter lying
shivered into fragments. He rushed
out into the road, but, although sew
eral passers-by declared that they had
noticed a man run out of the shop, ne
could neither see any one nor coulo
he find any means of identifying the
rascal 1t seemed to be one OF those
senseless acts of Iiooligansm which
occur from time to time, and 1t was
reported to the constable on the peat
as such. The plaster cast was not
worth more than few shillings' ana
the whole affair appeared to be 100
childish for any particular invesuga-
ton.
saThe second case, however, was more
serious, and also more singular. IL
occurred only last night.
I'm Remington Road, and WITHIN
few hundred yards of Morse Hudsons
shop, there lives a well known medi-
cal practitioner, named DR.. Barnicot,
who has one of the largest practices
upon the south side of the Thames.
His residence and principal consulting
room is at Remington Road, but ne
has a branch surgery and dispensary
at Lower Brixton Road, two MES
away. This DR.. Barnicot is an enthu-
siastic admirer of Napoleon, and his
house Is full of books. pictures, and
relics of the French Emperor Some lit
tie time ago he purchased from Morse
Hudson two duplicate plaster casts OF
the famous head of Napoleon by the
French sculptor, Devine. One of these
he placed in his hall in the house at
Remington Road, and the other on
the mante1piece of the surgery at
Lower Brixton. Well, when DR.. Barni-
cot came down this morning he was
astonished to find that his house had
been burgled during the night but
that nothing Lad been taken save the
plaster head from the hall. 1t had
been carried out and had been dashed
savagely against the garden wall, un-
der which it's splintered fragments
were discovered
Holmes rubbed his hands.
This is certainly very novel," said
he.
Il thought 1t would please you. But
] have not got to the end yet. DR..
Barnicot was due at his surgery at
twelve o'clock, and you can imagine
his amazement when, on arriving
there, he found that the window had
been opened in the night, and that the
broken pieces of his second bust were
strewn all over the room. 1t had been
smashed to atoms where II stood In
neither case were there any signs
which could give US a clue as to the
criminal or luratic who had done the
mischief. Now, Mr.. Holmes, you have
got the facts"
They are singular, not to say gro
tesque,'' said Holmes. May l ask
whether the two busts smashed in
DIR. Barnicot's rooms were the exact
duplicates of the one which was de-
stroyed in Morse Hudson's shop?"
They were taken from the same
mould
such fact must tell against the
theory that the man who breaks them
is influenced by any general hatred of
Napoleon. Considering how many hum
dreds of statues of the great Emperor
must exist in London, 1t is too much to
suppose such coincidence as that
proniscuous iconoclast should chance
to begin upon three specimens Of the
same bust
well, 1 thought as you do" said
I.estrade. "On the other hand this
Morse Hudson Is the purveyor of busts
In that part of London, and these
three were the only ones which had
been In his shop for years. So. al
though, as you say. there are many
hundreds of statues in London II Is
very probable that these three were
the only ones in that district. There
fore, a local fanatic would begin with
them. What do you think, DIR. Wat
son.
"There are no limits to the POSSIBLE
tiles Of monomania." / answered
There is the condition which the mod
ern French psychologists have called
the 1dee Axe which may be trifling in
character, and accompanied by COM
plete sanity in every other way. A