The Nezperce herald. (Nezperce, Idaho) 1900-1957, 1906-06-14
SHERLOCK RozuES.

what should do IL some sporting kind
| OF publisher We're suddenly to stride
| in and make me a bid of forty shil-
i llngs or so for the lot 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 Sign of
the Four followed In 1889. In which
story Sherlock Holmes, who bad 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 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. TO write such books"
he once said, speaking or Micah Clarke
and The White Company. zone must
have an enthusiasm for the age about
which be is writing. He must think II
a great one. and then he must go de-
IiberateIy to work and reconstruct IL
Then is his splendid JOY"
STUDY IN SCARLET FOR S125oo.
However Or. 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. IL
Is actually said that at times Dr.
Doyle has expressed a wish that pr.
Watson had never met Sherlock
Holmes. II 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 IL
outright for S125. The value of Sher-
lock Holmes has gone up since those
days. however
DR. Doyle acknowledges some "
debtedness to Dupin. the detective IN
Poe's short stories, 'aThe Murders in
the Rue Morgue'' and saThe Purfoinesi
Letter This Is the more interesting
for the reason that In "a Study In
Scarlet Sherlock Holmes Is made to
speak rather c0ntemptuous1y Of
DIR. Doyle again. s'In work which con-
sfsts In the drawing of detectives
there are only one or two quail. 3
which one can use. and an author Is
forced TO bark back upon them con-
stantly. so that every detective must
really resemble every other detect
to a greater or less extent. There Is
no great originality required In de-
tofx.
and the only possible originality which
one can get into story about detee-
tive Is in giving him original plots
and problems to solve, as in his equip
menf there must be of necessity an
alert aeuteness Of mind to grasp =
and the relation which each OF them
bears to the other"
CONSTRUCTION OF SHERLOCK
DIR. 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 WI that he bad
an immense fund Of exact knowledge |
upon which TO draw. in consequence |
Of his previous scientific education |
He was practical, he was sy ematic. |
be was logical and his success In \
the detection OF crime was TO the 4
result. not Of chance or luck. but of /
his Characteristic qualities with \
this idea.' says DR. Doyle, II wrote |
a book ON the lines I have indicated, |
and produced "A Study in Scarlet /
That was the first appearance of Sher- 1
ock: but he did not arrest much at
IGNITION. and no one recognized BIN as
being anything In particular. About
.hree years later. howe r. was
asked to do small shilling book for
Magazine. which pub
ishes, as you know, a complete story
n each number. I didn't know what
% write about, and the thought oc-
.urred to me. why not try to rig up
he same chap again. did 1t, and the
'esult was The Sign of the Four
Although the criticisms were f. vor-
bile, don't thiUx that even then Sher-
ock attracted much attention to his |,
But this shows Mr..