Further Notes From the Dispatch Box of John H Watson MD (The Dispatch Box of John H Watson, MD) by Ashton Hugh

Author:Ashton, Hugh [Ashton, Hugh]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Inknbeans Press
Published: 2013-06-20T16:00:00+00:00

SHERLOCK HOLMES AND

THE CURIOUS AFFAIR OF THE ARCHDEACON

EDITOR’S NOTE

A story of a very different aspect to other adventures. Written on foolscap sheets, pinned together, with several corrections and crossings-out; this was presumably a foul copy, and one which Watson did not feel it was worth his while continuing, possibly considering it too slight for publication. However, I found this to be a different side to the great detective. Incidentally, this case is mentioned in passing at the beginning of The Red Circle.

The city of Larrowby is mentioned here, but since there is no city in England by that name, it is obvious that Watson was using this as a pseudonym for some other northern city, such as Lincoln or York.

-oOo-

OF ALL THE ADVENTURES that I shared with the consulting detective, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, I do not believe that any presented as amusing an aspect as the one I relate here.

It was late November, and the previous night’s thick fog still enveloped London on the morning that Mr. Fairdale Hobbs came to visit us with his concerns. A young man of about twenty-five, his rather delicate features and weak chin were somewhat offset by a slightly incongruous bristling moustache, whose sandy colour matched his lank hair, worn slightly long. He had the air of a gentleman, and was dressed in the conventional style of a young man who works in an office, but his garments appeared to be a little out of the current fashion, and had seen better days.

“ It may seem trivial to you, Mr. Holmes, but it is a worry to me, and I would be obliged if you would take this case on my behalf,” were his first words to us, following his self-introduction.

“ I cannot possibly tell you if I will take the case or not,” answered my friend, smiling, “ until you present me with some of the relevant facts.”

“ Of course,” replied our visitor. “ First, maybe I should explain something about myself—“

“ Please proceed. Other than the facts that you are a bachelor, you reside in a lodging-house in Great Orme-street, you are employed as a clerk in the City, and though this employment is not generously rewarded, you have occasionally received gifts in kind from your relatives who live outside London in the North of the country, I know nothing about you.”

The other appeared startled. “ How do you know these things about me ? ” he demanded, in some consternation.

“ The fact that you are a bachelor is, I fear, obvious from the state of your coat, which has not been brushed for some time, and from which a button is hanging by a thread. No wife would permit her husband to be seen in such a state. I deduce Great Orme-street from the leaf of a species of Japanese maple adhering to one shoe. This particular species of tree is, to the best of my knowledge, only to be found in Russell-square by the side of that street which contains so many lodging-houses, and also in Kew Gardens.

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