The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-02-10

street, life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent, We would not dare to conceive the things which are really mere conmonplaceS of existence. If we could fly out of that window hand in hand. hover over this great city, gently remove the roofs, and peep in at the queer things which are go- ing on, the strange coincidences. the plannings, the croSS-purposes, the wonderful chains of events. working EEough generations, and leading to &e most outre results, it would make all fictien. with it's conventionalities and foreseen conclusions most stale and unproftable."
 And yet am not convinced of it, '' i I answered '~The cases which come to light in the papers are, as rule bald enough and vulgar enough. We have in our police reports realism Nusned to its extreme limits. and yet the result is, it must be confessed, neither fascinating nor artistic"
 "A certain selection and discretion must be used in producing realistic effect,'' remarked Holmes. This is wanting Tn the police report where : more stress is laid, perhaps, upon the , upon the details, which to an observer contain the vital essence of the whole matter. Depened upon it there IS !, nothing so unnatural as the common 1 place."
 smiled and shook my head. CT i can quite understand you thinking so," said, "Of course, in your posi- ; ton of unofficial adviser and helper : to everybody who is absolutely pug { zled, throughout three continents. . you are brought in contact with all , that is strange and bizarre. But | here''EI picked up the morning : paper from the ground-'let us put it to a practical test. Here Is the | ta1, husbands cruelty to his wife There i is half Q. colum of print, but l know i without reading it that it is all per- , fectly familiar to me. There IS, or ! course, the other woman, the drink, ] the push, the blow, the bruise. the : synpathetic sister or landlady. The 1 crudest of writers could invent noth- ! ing more crude" -
 "Indeed, your example is an unfor- tunate one for your argument" said Holmes. taking the paper and glanc- | ing his eye down it. ''Nhis is the : Dundas separation case, and, as it happens, I was engaged in clearins : up some small points in connection , with it. The husband was a tee totaler, there was no other woman, and the conduct complained of was i that he had drifted into the habit of ; winding up every meal by taking out ! his false teeth and hurling them at ! his wife, which, you will allow, is not ; an action likely to occur to the inn agination of the average story-teller. ! Take a pinch of snuff, doctor, and 1 acknowledge that I have scored over | you in your example,
 He held out his snuffbox of old i gold, with a great amethyst in the in such contrast to his homely ways and simple life that could not help commenting upon it.
 An said he, q forgot that I had not seen you for some weeks. It is little souvenir from the King of Bo hemia in return for my assistance in the case of the Irene Adler papers"
 And the ring2" I asked, glancing at a remarkable brilliant which sparkled upon his finger.
 ''It was from the re1gning family of Holland, though the matter in which I served them was of such delicacy that I cannot confide it even to you, who have been good enough to chronicle one or two of my little problems4''
 And have you any on hand just now I asked, with interest.
 Some 1Oto 12, but none which present any feature of interest. They are important, you understand, with out being interesting. Indeed, I have found that it is usually in unimport- ant matters that there is a field for the observations. and for the quick analysis of cause and effect which SlVGS the CDdr1n 10 an 1nVSSt1SaE1On- The larger crimes are apt to be the simpler, for the bigger the crime, the more obvious, as a rule, is the motive. In these cases. save for one rather intricate matter which has been re- ferred to me from Marseilles, there is nothing which presents any fea- lures of interest. It is possible, how ever, that l may have something bet ter before very many minutes are over, for this is one of my clients og oh r1oiS t.,ls
 He had risen from his chair and was standing between the parted blinds, gazing down into the dull neutral-tinted London street. Look. ing over his shoulder, I saw that o1 the pavement opposite there stood large woman with a heavy fur boz round her neck, ana a large curlinE red feather in a broad -brimmed ha, which was tilted in a ooquebtiSl Duchess ss-of-Devonshire fashion owe oply she peeped up in a nervous hesitating fashion at our windows while her body osciHated backwaE, and forward, and her fingers idgette, with her glove buttons. Suddenly with a plunge, as of the swimme who leaves the bank, she hurr1e across the road. and we heard tn sharp clang of the bell
 I have seen those symptoms be fore" said Holmes, throwing his cig arctic into the fire "Oscination l1po
 the pavement always means an affair re occur She would like advice, bu is not sure that the matter is not to delicate for communication. And ye even here we may discriminate. Whe a woman has been seriously wronge by man she no long ger oSci1lates and the usual symptom is a broke
 bell wire Here we may take it tf1a there is a love matter, but that tn
 maiden is not so murch angry a
 perplexed, or grieved. But here sh comes in person to resolve ou doubts"
 As he spoke there was a tap a
 the door, and the boy in buttons eu tered to announce Miss Mary Suther land, while the lady herself loome
 behind his small black figure like fulI-sailed mer'chant-man behind
 tiny pilot boat. Sherlock Ho1me , welcomed her with the easy coures
 for which he was remarkable, an
 having closed the door. and bowe
 her into an armchair, he looked he
 over in the minute, and yet abStracte fashion which was peculiar to him.
 DO you not find,' he said, tsths
 with your short sight it is a little try ing to do so much typewriting?''
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