Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1906-06-15
SHERLOCK HOLMES.

what I should do II some sporting kind
of publisher were suddenly to stride
in and make me n bid Of forty shil-
lings or so for the To-" When the
book at last fell into the hands Of Mr..
Andrew Lang then acting for Messrs.
Longmans, Green & Company, the
success of Micah Clarke was assured,
and its authors literary career placed
on a flrmer footing. The "Slgn OF
the Four" followed In 1889, in which
story Sherlock Holmes, who had made
his bow to the public in "a Study in
Scarlet" reappeared and increased DR..
DOyle's rising reputation. His heart,
however, was in the historical novel,
and I'm 1890 he followed up the success
of Micah with "The White Company"
in the preparation of which he read
one hundred and fifteen volumes,
French and English, dealing with the
fourteenth century in England His
delight In the work is expressed in his
own words: ITO write such books"
he once said, speaking Of Micah Clarke
and The White Company, zone must
have an enthusiasm for the age about
which he is writing. He must think It
a great one, and then he must go de-
llberately to work and reconstruct it.
Then is his a splendid JOY"
STUDY IN SCARLET FOR s125oO.
However, DR.. Doyle may prefer to
write historical rOmances, and what
ever his personal estimate Of his great
detective may be, the fact remains
that in Sherlock Holmes he has
created character whose exploits are
as familiar as household words, and
who has entered into the very fibre
of Anglo-SaxOn life and literature. II
is actually said that at times DR.,
Doyle has expressed n wish that nr,
Watson had never met Sherlock
Holmes It is on record that he
thought so little Of "a Study in Scar.
let" the story in which Sherlock
Holmes first appeared, that he sold II
outright for $125. The value OF Sher.
lock Holmes has gone up since those
days, however
DR.. Doyle acknowledges some II
debtedness to Dupin, the detective ir
POe's short stories, "The Murders il
the Rue Morgue" and "The Purlolnet
Letter" This is the more interesting
for the reason that in "a Study IL
Scarlet" Sherlock Holmes is made Il
speak rather cOntemptuously Of
Dupins skill and acumen. To quote
DIR. Doyle again: ''In work which con
slsts in the drawing of detectives
there are only one or two quail, 4
which one can use, and an author Il
forced to bark back upon them con
stantly, so that every detective mus
really resemble every other detec'
to a greater or less extent. There /
no great originality required in de
vising or constructing such a man
and the only possible originality whic
one can get into a story about a deteC
tive is in giving him original plot
and problems to solve, as in his equiI
ment there must be of necessity a
alert acuteness of mind to grasp
and the relation which each of theI
bears to the other"
CONSTRUCTION OF SHERLOCK,
DR.. Doyle went to work, therefor,
to build up a scientific system in whiC
everything might be logically reasone
out. Where Sherlock Holmes diifere
, from his predecessors was that he ha
an immense fund of exact knowledg
, upon which to draw, in consequent
, Of his previous scientific education
He was practical, he was sy' emati
he was logical, and his success
the detection of crime was to q I'll
result not of chance or luck, but {
!, his characteristic qualities. "Wit
, this idea," says DIR. Doyle, 81 Nfo
! book on the lines l have Indicate
! and produced "A Study in Scarlet
! That was the first appearance of She
= lock; but he did not arrest much a
a tention, and no one recognized him {
9 being anything IN particular. Abol
three years later, howe p, l w;
! asked to do a small shilling book f,
, Lippincott's Magazine, which pu
! fishes, as you know, a complete stol
in each number. l didn't know VIII
to write about, and the thought @
Cured to me, why not try to rig I
the same chap againY l did it, and t
result was The Sign of the Fou
Although the criticisms were vC
able, don't think that even then She
lock attracted much attention to /
individuality" But this shows N
Doyle's modesty.