Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1906-06-09
SHERLOCK HOLMES.


what should do II some sporting kind
of publisher were suddenly to stride
in and make me 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
L6nngnans Green & Company, the
success Of Micah Clarke was assured.
and its authors literary career placed
ON a firmer footing. The Sign 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 DIR.
Doyle's rising reputation. His heart,
however, was in the historical novel,
and in 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-
liberately to work and reconstruct it..
Then is his splendid joy"
STUDY IN SCARLET FOR s125.oo.
However. DIR. 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. 1t
is actually said that at times DR..
Doyle has expressed 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 it
outright for S125. The value of Sher-
lock Holmes has gone up since those
days, however.
DR. Doyle acknowledges some IT.
debtedness to Dupin. the detective in
Poe's short stories, "The Murders in
the Rue Morgue" and "The Purloined
Letter" This is the more interesting
for the reason that in "a Study in
Scarlet" Sherlock Holmes is made to
speak rather contemptuously of
Dupin's skill and acumen. To quote
DIR. Doyle again: "In work which con-
sists in the drawing of detectives
there are only one or two quail, 3
which one can-1lse. and an author Is
forced to bark back upon them con-
stantly. so that every detective must
really ensemble every other detec;
to a greater or less extent. There is
no great originality required In de-
vlsing or constructing such a man,
and the only possible originality which
tive Is in giving him original plots
and problems to solve, as in his equip
ment there must be of necessity an
alert acuteness of mind TO grasp IS
and the relation which each of them
bears to the other"
CONSTRUCTION OF SHERLOCK.
DR.. Doyle went to work, therefore,
to build up scientific system in which
everything might be logically reasoned
out. Where Sherlock Holmes differed
from his predecessors was that he had
an immense fund of exact knowledge
upon which to draw, in consequence
Of his previous scientific education.
He was practical, he was sy' ematic,
he was logical. and his success in
the detection of crime was to q the
result not of chance or luck, but of
his characteristic qualities. with
this idea" says DR.. Doyle, II wrote
a book on the lines have indicated,
and produced "A Study in Scarlet
That was the first appearance of Sher-
lock- but he did not arrest much at
tention, and no one recognized him as
being anything in particular. About
three years later. howe =. | was
asked to do small shilling book for
Lipplncott's Magazine, which pub
fishes, as you know. complete story
In each number. didn't know what
to write about, and the thought oc-
Cured to me. why not try to rig up
the same chap again. did it. and the
result was The Sign of the Four.
Although the criticisms were f. vor-
able, don't think that even then Sher-
lock attracted much attention to his
individuality" But this shows Mr..
Doyle's modesty.