Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1907-02-21
THE DETECTIVE STORY
Origin and Growth of the Clever
Amateur SIeuth.
voLTAlRE WAS HIS CREATOR.
The Great French Writer introduced
Him to the World of Fiction-The
Genius of Poe and Gaboriau and
Conan Doye's Sherlock Holmes.


Genius of Poe and Gaboriau and
Conan DoyIe's Sherlock Holmes.
Most persons who read detective
stories, and most literary critics, too,
believe that this very popular form of
fiction was invented by Edgar Allan
Poe. They point to his story of 1.-THE
Purloined Letter as being the first of
its kind-the first in which is intro
duced the man of keen mind, of close
reasoning and of constructive imagi-
nation, who is able to piece together
certain facts that are known and then
by brilliant deduction to pass from
them to other facts which are not
known, but the truth of which he is
able to establish beyond a doubt.
Poe himself had a mind precisely of
this character-the mind of a mathe-
matician, subtle, logical and capable
of searching analysis. He once gave a
remarkable illustration of what he
could do as an Investigator Of mystic
rious crime. A young shopgirl named
Mary Rogers was found murdered
under circumstances which excited
great public interest in New York.
The police were completely baffled,
though they advanced a theory which
was plausible in part Poe, taking the
facts that were admitted, wove them
into story. the scene of which he laid
in Paris and which he called "The
Mystery of Marie Roget" Then from
what was known he passed by deduc-
tive reasoning to what was quite I'M
known and worked out a solution to
the puzzle which no professional de-
tective had been able to explain.
Years afterward the confession Of
dying man afforded proof that Poe
was right and that he had reconstruct
ed accurately the whole series of
events which led to the death of Mary
Rogers.
This remarkable achievement fixed in
the public mind the notion that this use
of logic blended with imagination was
original with Poe AS a matter of fact,
it is almost certain that Poe, who was
deeply yersed in French literature, got
the suggestion of the method from
reading certain passages in the ORR
entail tale called "Zadig," by Voltaire.
In this book a young man is questioned
as to whether he had seen a stray dog
and horse that might have passed him
on his journey. In reply he describes
very accurately the peculiarities of
both, though he had not seen them.
II 4
observing certain indications along
the way-the nature of the footprints
and many other signs which the ordi-
nary person would either not have no
ticed or would have been too dull to
understand Here is really the germ
of the conception which Poe so bril-
liantly elaborated in the story of "The
Purloined Letter." where we find ex-
hibited the striking contrast between
the working of a usual mind and the
achievements of a mind of exceptional
power and training.
Foes central figure, the amateur de-
tective, was afterward caught up and
elaborated with great effect by several
French writer's, of whom the chief was
Emile Gaboriau. Gaboriau gave the
world the character of NJ. Lecoq in the
remarkable novel of that name. Lecou
is a professional detective, but ap-
pears in that book as a novice, inexpe-
rienced, but full of intelligence and en-
thuSiaSm and obliged to work out his
clews against the secret opposition Of
his official chief, Geyrot who is jeaI-
Gus of the young detective. In the
background is the interesting figure
of the real amateur detective, old Fa-
ther Tire-au-Clair (''Bring- to-light'0 a
retired tradesman who studies crime
from sheer love of the intellectual puz-
zle which it affords him and which he
solves by purely scientific deduction.
Sir Conan Doyle in creating Sherlock
Holmes openly acknowledged his great
Indebtedness to Poe Like Poe's hero,
Holmes works apart from the official
police and is consulted by them when
they are wholly at a loss. Many Of
the incidents in the Holmes cycle of
stories were suggested by the inven-
lions of Poe. Yet it is only fair to say
that Doyle has gone one step further
than his master. Poe's characters are
distractions. They are like chessmen
on the board and excite interest only
because of the cOmpleXity of the prob
lem which they are made to solve
Doyle's characters, on the other hand,
are drawn with sympathy and a
shrewd insight into human nature.
They entertain us by their whims and
individual traits no less than by the
adventures through which they pass.
Thus Holmes addiction to the cocaine
habit, his trick Of smoking great guam
titles Of shag tobacco when thinking
out a problem, his dislike of women,
his skill as a boxer-in fact, a score of
traits all give him individuality and
make us think of him as fascinating
character quite apart from his powers
as deductive reasoner. And it is so
with the minor personages as we'll
Watson, the somewhat obtuse chron-
icler of the adventures; Lestrade and
Gregson of the official police and
Moriarty, the arch criminal.
bul, hONSNel DillAldnI 1oe may nave
been, or however ingeniously Gaboriau
may have spun tangled plots, or how
ever ably Conan Doyle may have given
life and reality to the central figure of
his stories, they all derive their in
spiration, whether consciously or not,
from the clever tale told by the IA
nous Frenchman before Poe saw the
light-Scrap Book.
Coed some Ot.acr gT,ne.
"Just as Jack was about to kiss me
last night father walked ito the