The star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1908-1909, 1908-09-25

threw II into the fire In despair.
IF l canno find what the fellow Is
driving at by reconciling all these ac-
eomplishmcnts, and discovering a call
ing which needs them ALL" l said to
myself, II may as we'll give up the at
tempt at once"
l see that / have alluded above to
his powers upon the violin. These
were very remarkable, but as eccentric
as all his other accomplishments. That
he could play pieces, and difficult
pieces. l knew we'll, because at my re-
quest he has played me some OF Men
d~elssohn's Lieder, n other favorites.
When left to himself, however. he
would seldom produce any music or at
tempt any recognized air.
Leaning back In his armchair of an
evening he would close his eyes and
scrape carelessly at the fiddle, which
was thrown across his knee. Some
times the chords were sonorous and
melancholy, Occasionally they were
fantastic and cheerful. Clearly they
reflected the thoughts which possessed
him, but whether the music aided
those thoughts, or whether the play
ing was simply the result of a within or
fancy, was more than I could deter
mine. I might have rebelled against
these exasperating solos had 1t not
been that he usually terminated them
by playing in quick succession a
whole series of my favorite airs as a
slight compensation for the trial upon
my patience.
During the first week or SO we had
no callers, and I had begun to think
that my companion was as ~friendless
a man as l was myself. Presently,
however, I found that he had many
acquaintances, and those in the most
different classes of society. There was
ore little sallow, rat-faced, dark-eyed
fellow who was introduced to me as
Mr.. Lestrade, and who came three or
four times in a single week. One morn
Ing a young girl called. fashionably
dressed, and stayed for half an hour
or more. The same afternoon brought
n gray-headed. seedy visitor, looking
like a Jew peddler, who appeared to
me to be much excited. and who was
closely followed by a slip-shod elderly
woman. On another occasion an old
white-haired gentleman had an inter-
view with my companion; and on an
other, a railway porter In his velveteen
uniform. When any of these monde
script individuals put In an appear
ance. Sherlock Holmes used to beg for
the use of the sitting-room, and I
would retire to my bedroom. He al
ways a~pologized to me for putting me
to this Inconvenience.
IT have to use this room as a place
of business" he said, land these peo-
pie are my clients"
Again I had an opportunity of ask
ing him a point-blank question, and
a ooIp ,,xy IoI;oaaxy nraxyAntad n FROM
forcing another man to conf1de In me.
l imagined at the time that he had
some strong reason for not abiding to
1t, but he soon dlspelled the idea by
coming round to the subject of his own
accord.
1t was upon the 4th OF March, as I
have good reason to remember, hat
I rose somewhat earlier than usual,
and found that Sherlock Holmes had
not yet finished his breakfast. The
landlady had become so accustomed to
my late habits that my place had not
been laid nor my coffee prepared. With
the unreasonable petulance of mankind
I rang the bell and gave a curt inti-
nation that / was ready. Then I
picked up a magazine from the table
n attempted to while AVA tho time
with 1t, while my companion munched
silently at his toast. One OF the
articles had a pencil-mark at the head
ing. and I naturally began to run my
eye through It.
It's somewhat ambitious title was
THE Book of Life and It attempted
to show how much an observant man
might learn by an accurate and sys-
tematic examination OF all that came
In his way. 1t struck me as being a
remarkable mixture of shrewdness and
of ~absurdity. The reasoning was close
and intense, but the deductions ap-
peared to me tc be far-fetched and ex-
aggerated. The writer claimed by a
momentary expression, a twitch of a
muscle. or a glance of an eye, to
fathom a mans inmost thoughts. De-
ceit. according to him. was an impos-
sibility in the case of one trained to
observation and analysis. His con
illusions were as infaliible as so many
propositions of Euclid. So startling
would his results appear to the un-
initiated that, until they learned the
processes by which he had arrived at
them, they might we'll consider him as
a necromancer.
From a drop of water" said the
writer, "a logician could infer the pos
sliiiilg VI oil liiltI VI a. ANidEdAR
without having seen or heard of one
or the other. So all life is a great
chain. the nature of which is known
whenever we are shown a single link
of 1t. Like all other arts, the science
Of deduction and analysis is one which
can only be acquired by long ana
patient study. nor is life long enough
to allow any mortal to attain the high
est possible perfection In it. Befors
turning to those moral and mental as
poets of the matter which present the
greatest difficulties. let the inquirer
begin by mastering more elementary
problems. Let him, on meeting a fell
low-mortal, learn at a glance to dis
tingulsh the history of the. man, and
The trade or profession to which he be-
longs. Puerile as such an exercise
may seem, II sharpens the faculties of
observation and teaches one where to
look and what to look for. BY u mans
hnger-nails. by his coat-sleeve, by his
boot, by his trouser-knees, by the cal
~losities of his forefinger and thumb, by
his expression. by his shirt-cuffs-by
each of these things a mans calling Is
plainly revealed. That all united
should fail to enlighten the competent
l 1--.l-o. IN nAxf Oaca fa 01rxaAot t,AA1-